The show must go on — online

OuT of the darkness, some light ... the uK theatre world was crippled on Tuesday when venues on and off the West End — and all over the country — shut their doors due to the virus.

Yes, there’s real hardship for the vast majority of those who work in the theatrical arts. Contrary to the assumption that actors, directors and playwrights get paid loads of money, most struggle; living hand-tomouth and job to job.

But within hours, social media was fit to burst with artists coming up with a variety of ideas of putting shows online — performed in living rooms, garden sheds; you name it.

And organisations ranging from the National Theatre to the London Symphony Orchestra to the Almeida and The Kiln talked about streaming productions lucky enough to be filmed, or curating other glorious activities. What struck me was that it was all about sharing their bounty with those of us trapped in our homes.

The Stage, the trade weekly, has been keeping a tally of what’s going on, so check them out on Twitter.

One that i must cite is a Half A Sixpence dance-a-thon, set up live on instagram by choreographer Andrew Wright. it was Wright who created the gobsmacking routines for the recent Cameron Mackintosh production of the musical that ran at Chichester Festival Theatre and then the Noel Coward, with Charlie Stemp, devon-Elise Johnson and Emma Williams.

He and colleague Jaye Elster were meant to be reviving Sixpence at Kilworth House Theatre in South Leicestershire. ‘We want people to join us in their living rooms, and feel happiness again,’ Wright told me. Find him on instagram