Show of support as theatre lovers back cultural gems
ALL ACROSS THE UK, PEOPLE ARE COMING TOGETHER TO SAFELY DELIVER THE COVID-19 VACCINE TO MILLIONS OF US
THEATRE lovers have given Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) a multi-thousand pound boost to kick start 2021.
Over a festive season largely wrecked by the pandemic, audiences were asked to support a Save A Seat campaign.
The response saw The REP and BRB raise over £15,000 in donations and support by match-funders DLA Piper in Birmingham.
The initiative aimed to help cover the lost income from some of the seats left empty during the run of The Nutcracker at The REP after performances in front of socially-distanced live audiences were cancelled due to local tier restrictions.
The proceeds will be split the two organisations.
Sean Foley, artistic director at The REP added: “2020 proved to be an unprecedented and extremely difficult year for theatres across the country, including here.
“However, in these challenging times, we have been overwhelmed by the incredible support of audiences and partners – including the fantastic response from supporters to our Save A Seat campaign and the generous match-funding from DLA Pipe.
“We very much look forward to a time in the not-too-distant future when we can welcome all of those who have helped us over the course of the year back to The REP.”
Carlos Acosta, director at Birmingham Royal Ballet added: “Birmingham Royal Ballet are so grateful for the incredible support from The Nutcracker at the REP audiences and to DLA Piper.
“2020 was a difficult year for Birmingham Royal Ballet and the arts industry, but the unwavering support from audiences has been a constant source of encouragement for the company and we cannot wait to return to the stage as soon as we can.”
The pandemic has resulted in many arts organisations being unable to open and perform in front of audiences for over seven months. Since March, over 80 per cent of The REP’s income has come to an abrupt and unexpected halt.
The pandemic also had a huge impact on Birmingham Royal Ballet and it has proved difficult for the company to confirm plans and performances or to deliver education work to thousands of young people across Birmingham.
Trevor Ivory, Birmingham managing partner at DLA Piper said: “Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Birmingham Royal Ballet are two of the city’s cultural crown jewels and we
are extremely proud to have supported their Save A Seat campaign.
“We encourage everyone to maintain their support for these everimportant institutions when possible and look forward to a time in the not-too-distant future when the curtain can rise once again.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber has said it is “vital” that theatres continue with measures to improve ventilation even after audiences are vaccinated.
The theatre giant, who took part in the trials for the Oxford jab, is hoping to reopen venues from May.
He said: “When the theatres do open again, one thing is going to be vital, that we don’t let up on the measures we were going to take anyway if we were allowed to stay open. Ventilation. Vital.
“It amused me that in 1918, the London Palladium was considered to be the safest place in London away from the Spanish flu because of the ventilation.”
The composer said he was infuriated when he saw photographs of busy shopping streets in the run-up to Christmas: “I’ve always said that I thought middle of May we could be beginning to see things opening up. That was based on information I had in October/November.
“I think everybody thought there would be a big massive spike now which I think could have been avoided if everyone had just knocked on the head the Christmas shopping.
“It was ludicrous when we were told we couldn’t go on with the theatre in December because everything
was going into Tier 3... the sights outside the theatre, which was only 50 per cent full because that’s all it was allowed to be, but everybody jostling in all the shops in Oxford Street, Regent Street.
“That did, I think, make everybody in theatre people’s blood boil.
“But they were right to lock theatre down, but they should have locked everything else down at that time, because it was going out of control and they knew it.
“But we are where we are, and I stick by that date, but I might be out by six weeks. Some shows, my new Cinderella could open at 75 per cent, so we’ll just have to see.
“The main thing is to get theatres open fully.”
Audiences now have the opportunity to watch another cast of Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers in The Nutcracker at The REP streaming online until Sunday. Tickets cost £10 per household and can be purchased at brb.org.uk.
We have been overwhelmed by the incredible support of audiences and partners Sean Foley, REP artistic director
Many military personnel have come together to help speed up the vaccination programme, and 27-year-old Calum MacLeod of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is just one of them. He was called upon by GMC (General Medical Council) Scotland to help set up sites in Glasgow that will be vaccinating more than 1,000 people each day.
“We at the Scots DG have been tasked with identifying and validating vaccination centres, and getting them up and running,” says Calum. “We’re doing anything from helping to lay flooring, to moving chairs and tables around. We’ve been on task now for just under two weeks.
When we take off the uniform at night we’re just regular people, and we want to get back to normal – going to the pub and seeing friends
“We’ve got 11 teams operational across Scotland,” he explains. “I’ve got eight people in my team in Glasgow, plus a reserve back in Leuchars. NHS Scotland has scouted out the key sites, and we go in with a checklist that involves assessing things like how big the car park is, and whether there’s enough space for the centre – to set out the number of vaccination cells that they want. Then there are issues like, where can we put the vaccination fridges? Is there good ventilation – not only in the hall, but in the room to keep the fridges cool?”
Each person involved in the vaccination programme has valuable skills to bring to the project, and their determination to work together and make a difference really shows.
“Every single organisation, whether that be NHS Scotland, the military, the local authorities or the contractors is bringing its own expertise,” says Calum. “The Army brings organisational capacity and a can-do attitude. It’s a vast effort by everyone involved. Then we’re helping to think outside the box; the Scots DG has had some experience working with this sort of military aid to civil authorities, as we were deployed earlier in the pandemic to construct mobile testing units.
“It was actually a similar situation there, where we would be given a site and then had to transform it from being in a car park or something like that into an actual operational centre where people could be tested. These have now been taken over by the Scotland Ambulance Service.”
MOVING FAST
And as the vaccination programme has shown so far, speed is of the essence – and with more than 10 million people across the UK already having received their first dose, things are moving fast. “A large centre, like most of the ones in Glasgow that I’ve been working on, will handle 1,818 people per day – someone has really done the maths! I know some of the other guys have been working on extra-large ones whose capacity is even greater,” says Calum, who stresses how proud he is to be doing something for people in Scotland. “I’m from the local area so it feels really good to be getting these vaccinations out. A lot of my soldiers are also really happy and motivated to be helping communities across Scotland.”
Calum is well aware of the impor - tance of his and his team members’ efforts in helping everyone be able to return to normality.
“When we take off the uniform at night, we’re just regular people, and like everyone else we want to get back to our everyday lives – going to the pub at weekends, meeting friends in restaurants or parks,” he says.
“Partners and families have all been affected by this, so we just want to get everything back on track, and we’re more than happy to do our bit.”