Don’t forget about us, plead theatre bosses
THEATRES and music venues face a ‘catastrophic’ collapse with severe restrictions still in place as lockdown is eased, industry leaders have warned.
Bosses of leading arts bodies said they are ‘battling for survival’ and that the industry needs a £1billion rescue package to make it through to next year
Theatres and concert halls will be allowed to open from July 4 but not for live performances. And bosses said implementing the reduced one-metre social distancing measures would still leave venues only a quarter full.
Some theatres have accepted they will be closed until next year despite fears that many could go bust before then.
Joanna Lumley said the artistic industries, which employ hudreds of thousands in the UK, had already hit ‘rock bottom’ and that theatres do ‘not have a chance of looking into the future’.
Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville said a ‘co-ordinated survival strategy is desperately needed’ for the survival of Britain’s near 1,000 theatres amid the threat of mass redundancies. He wrote: ‘Dear Government, in the rush to the pub don’t forget the thousands of venues whose doors remain closed.’
Earlier this week, the heads of 68 arts bodies including the National Theatre and English National Opera said the arts are a ‘national success story, vital to Britain’s economic prosperity’. In a letter, they wrote: ‘Without immediate and substantial financial support theatres and performing arts companies will close and tens of thousands of artistic careers will be cut short.’
Downing Street hinted yesterday that it was considering further financial aid for areas including London’s West End.
Theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh said government inaction had forced him to take ‘drastic steps’, including putting off staging his biggest hits, including Les Miserables, until next year and launching a redundancy plan for staff. He told the Financial Times: ‘Their inability to say when the impossible constraints of social distancing will be lifted makes it equally impossible for us to properly plan for whatever the new future is.’
Dame Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, warned yesterday venues will be taking ‘irrevocable decisions’ to cut staff if support is not announced within ten days.
A survey of the Independent Theatre Council and Music Venue Trust carried out by ITV News found 97.5 per cent of venues and companies fear they face permanent closure.
It came as Dame Judi Dench, 85, told Channel 4 News she was unsure theatres would reopen in her lifetime.
‘Impossible constraints’