This could be our ticket out of Covid hell

For all of us who work in theatre, as in so many industries that rely on bringing people together, the past year has been nothing short of a nightmare. Hopes of reopening have been dashed again and again.

Three months after London’s West End went dark last March, the great Dame Judi Dench publicly speculated that she might not live to see many of its world-famous theatres reopen.

But now, with mass vaccination, there are real grounds for hope. Yet on their own, vaccines may not be enough. The rollout is starting to slow amid supply problems, while so-called ‘vaccine hesitancy’ has led to concerning numbers of people turning down the crucial jabs – more than 3million over-55s have not been immunised. All this has led to fears that vaccines may not be the silver bullet we hoped.

That is why the Government is now rumoured to be considering mandatory Covid passports for entertainment venues: as a way of safely allowing these places to reopen. And I welcome the idea: it could be the ‘passport’ out of this crisis.

I understand why some have reservations. I share concerns about surrendering any medical details to an official brandishing a clipboard.

But we have to be realistic. If scientists can demonstrate that proof of vaccination is the best way to protect public health in crowded venues, then we have to do what it takes.

For theatre to be financially viable you need to be close to 80 per cent full. That is impossible with social distancing and it is why ‘vaccine passports’ could be the way out.

Think how reassuring it would be for those in the audience to know the people around them had all been safely vaccinated.

Far from being a curtailment of our freedom, these crucial documents could be the way to enable us to be free again – until the virus is defeated at last.