‘The show WILL go on’ – theatre boss
BACK in mid-March as the iron grip of lockdown tightened, the nine-strong team (which also manages Hippings Vale Community Centre) closed up the Civic and said emotional goodbyes - assuming they would be no jobs to return to once the pandemic was over.
Now, three months on, with the Chancellor’s furlough scheme helping to protect jobs and wrap a protective blanket around businesses, the outlook for them is looking rosier, but remains highly uncertain.
Creative director Gayle Knight says she “cannot fault” the furlough scheme and other grant aid provided to the venue in these dark times, including Arts Council funding.
However, with new coronavirus infections nationwide still in the thousands every day there is little prospect of them being able to reopen their doors to theatre-goers safely in the near future - at least not in a way that would make economic sense. And that’s before you factor in the appetite of audiences to cultural experiences whose very essence, as Gayle puts it, is about “feeding off other people”.
There is a major concern that with the furlough support running out in October, theatres like the Civic will be facing falling off “a cliff edge”.
“We are calling it a furlough scheme but it’s just a job retention scheme. It’s most definitely saved the jobs for us; it’s saved the theatre,” she says bluntly.
“We didn’t think we would be back, in March. We were all devastated and we were crying and it was awful. We just thought that was it, game over. We had no idea. But as the weeks went on we are absolutely 100 per cent sure we can reopen.”
Gayle admits the situation is graver for larger theatres, some of whom have already gone to the wall during the pandemic. And worst case predictions have been dire - in the Daily Telegraph last month West End producer Sonia Friedman warned: “Without an urgent government rescue package, 70 per cent of our performing arts companies will be out of business before the end of this year. More than 1,000 theatres around the country will be insolvent and might shut down for good.”
The Civic is backing a national campaign backed by stars such as director Sam Mendes and theatre owner Cameron Mackintosh to protect the entertainment industry, including cinema, television and pubs. A petition on the 38 degrees website calling on Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to take action has more than 57,000 signatures.
Gayle said: “We need to support our culture. There’s absolutely no way that you can social distance in a theatre. For example, from an audience perspective we would have to reduce our 450-seat theatre to 139 seats. But economically that isn’t really viable. That also doesn’t take into consideration things like going to the bar or going to the toilets or buying ice creams. One of the discussions was if there was no interval. You have got to look at it from the actors’ perspective; you cannot be on stage without kissing, holding, fighting and touching. It’s impossible.”
The theatre might still be able to re-open to audiences from as early as September, but Gayle admits this is an optimistic timeframe. She said: “We at the Civic are lucky because our overheads are low and, apart from a few small bills, we’re not eating into our reserves too much. We are secure now but much larger theatres have already gone into administration.
“We have got this bridge of Christmas to get over. The fear is we’ll end up with furlough ending in October and a big cliff edge to fall off when we start our Christmas shows. We have to have packed houses; panto doesn’t work with small numbers in the audience. There are calls for it to be treated as an exception and for culture to be treated differently [from other sectors]. What that looks like I genuinely don’t know. The small community theatres have just as much value as the larger theatres like the Opera House, Palace and Lowry. We have a different type of feel and audience and we need to protect the small pockets of culture and make sure we don’t lose any more.”
Gayle says staff will need a few weeks to prepare the building before they are ready for the general public’s return. This will include maintenance, deep cleaning and ensuring the water is safe from legionella. The theatre has been striving to keep its audiences engaged during lockdown with online shows, treasure hunts and competitions such as a Scarecrow Festival and sunflower growing.
Potential ‘ workarounds’ such as open air theatre, smaller, socially distanced audiences and single-performer shows are being explored, but their viability is doubtful.
Gayle admits they cannot reopen properly until the demand for what is often regarded as a luxury experience returns to pre-pandemic levels.
“We are looking at things like that but you cannot do panto outside. That’s every theatre’s biggest period,” she said.
“We want to do it safely - and when there’s an appetite for it as well. Audiences might be scared at the moment at going into a packed, warm building with too many other people. The ambience, the closeness, everything about it is about feeding off other people. If it’s an unpleasant experience people won’t want to go. We don’t want to give people half measures by doing just one-man shows.
“We want to reassure our local people that we are able to open and want to reopen. We are chomping at the bit to reopen as long as it’s safe for everybody. If it comes to October and the world is confident and social distancing is gone and we are back in full swing, then no problem, no issue, we are back to normal. But realistically, I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”