New era for Bats Theatre
Currency is a funny word, says the general manager of Bats Theatre, Jonathon Hendry. One minute you’re revelling in the spotlight; the next, the curtain comes down.
The theatre, which celebrated 30 years last year, is a hub for Wellington creators and performers.
From their premises at the end of Courtney Place, Hendry said they were well situated to witness the absence of visitors to the central city during the past two months.
The theatre, closed since the announcement of level 4 but always one to push the boundaries, had been releasing digital content and hosting online social nights since March. The team was taking it ‘‘day by day’’, finding shortterm solutions for problems, but preparing for the inevitable future when Covid-19 was safely in the rear-view mirror.
‘‘It feels a little less pressured than it was in March, but at the same time we don’t have a crystal ball, so what we’re doing is finding ways to be nimble and listen to our people.’’
Those short-term solutions had the potential to become part of the theatre’s standard offering in the future.
‘‘We’ve been building our ability to share work online, using e-paywalls and supporting works that use the Zoom format.
‘‘What we’re interested in is keeping that dimension of our work in the digital space.’’
Creatives around the world were sharing work for free for those in isolation. ‘‘People have opened up.’’
The theatre’s first live stream of George Fowler’s Princess Boy Wonder was a test of the ability to broadcast shows live online, and it went without a hitch.
Many artists in the community had lost their income for the rest of the year, with works cancelled months in advance.
‘‘We have a small team. We’ve tightened our belt, so we’ve been OK,’’ Hendry said.
‘‘We do need money for the things we want to make.’’
Their landlords were film legends Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh, and they had made a donation to the theatre of the equivalent of six months’ rent, effectively giving them a rent holiday.
The theatre didn’t pay artists, but facilitated them working in their spaces for free.
But with only 80 seats in the theatre, it was hard for artists to make money that way, so Bats was considering changing that policy. The question now was how to commercialise and profit off digital content.
The theatre was currently hosting a group from Victoria University as part of the programme, working in VR for digital distribution.
Bats wasn’t looking to go back to how it was, but rather bring the best of Bats forward into this new era.
One thing was for sure – the arts were down, but not out. ‘‘New exciting fringey art can continue to be made.’’
He quoted an old saying he rather liked: ‘‘Theatre is dying, as it always has been.’’