Hope for theatres
The CFT joins a visual campaign and shares feelings of relief and caution at the Government’s funding pledge –
Chichester Festival Theatre is showing its solidarity with other closed theatres around the country.
It has been wrapped with pink barrier tape reading ‘Missing Live Theatre’ in a positive message of hope and visibility – part of the #scenechange campaign.
From early on in lockdown, the community of set and costume designers has been uncomfortably aware of the negative visual imagery and sadness around closed buildings. This July, in collaboration with theatres across the UK, #scenechange has launched #Missinglivetheatre – wrapping theatre buildings with pink barrier tape reading ‘Missing Live Theatre’.
Beginning with the National Theatre, the baton was passed to the West End and regional theatres nationwide; Chichester Festival Theatre has joined in, in conjunction with designer Lez Brotherston.
In a statement, #scenechange said: “Whilst we navigate a way back to live performance, we continue #Missinglivetheatre to bring joy and colour to theatres across the UK and Ireland, to celebrate these incredible buildings, and the key role they play within their communities. We welcome the Government investment announced (at the weekend), and see this as a key moment for the industry, a time to renew and reset, build a stronger future for all, and safeguard the sector for future generations.
“However, at this time theatres remain closed, and as freelancers we stand together with those dependent on the furlough scheme and financial aid packages – all of us unable to work in our chosen careers and all of us #Missinglivetheatre.”
Kathy Bourne, executive director of Chichester
Festival Theatre, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this uplifting and creative response from the brilliant design community. Many thanks to Lez Brotherston, who designed the installation for us, and to our superb technical staff who rose to the challenge of making it a reality.”
#scenechange began as a small email exchange ‘Dialogue in Strange Times’ between a group of set and costume designers. Now it is a wide community of designers covering the breadth of the discipline and growing to over 1,000 members, promoting ways of coming together in conversation and action in support of theatre.
The tape will be recycled and reused by #scenechange to envelope another theatre.
● See page 50 for our interview with Chichester Festival Theatre artistic director Daniel Evans about the Government’s emergency funding for the arts.