The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lifeline support offers no guarantees, director says
Warning venues such as Pitlochry Festival Theatre still facing major challenges
More than £100 million of emergency funding for Scotland’s performing arts sector offers no guarantees for venues such as Pitlochry Festival Theatre, its artistic director has warned.
Elizabeth Newman welcomed the newly announced lifeline support aimed at supporting the country’s crisis-hit culture industry from both the UK and Scottish governments.
But she said there were still major challenges facing the popular Highland Perthshire venue that couldn’t be easily overcome with extra funding alone.
Ms Newman, who last month announced a round of redundancies, said physical distancing measures would slash capacity at the venue from 540 to around 70, making it financially unworkable.
She said the theatre would go bankrupt in a short time if it was forced to struggle on with such a restricted audience.
On Friday, the Scottish Government announced a £10 million lifeline for the performing arts sector, while the UK Government said on Sunday it would make a £1.57bn support package available for British museums, theatres and galleries.
It is estimated that about £100m of the UK payout will go to venues north of the border.
Ms Newman said: “Obviously, it is really great that the UK and Scottish governments have made these announcements, but it is also very important to understand that there are still no guarantees.
She said: “What has been made clear in England, is that this money will be for the arts, culture and heritage industry – so not just for theatres, and not just for the arts.
“The Scottish Government might choose to distribute their money in the same way, and if so that will have to go around an awful lot of organisations.”
Even with extra funding, there is no certainty for the future, she said.
“Our capacity is 538 and when we looked at social distancing, it would basically take the average audience
“Our capacity is 538 and when we looked at social distancing, it would basically take the average audience down to 70. ELIZABETH NEWMAN
down to 70, which just isn’t possible for us,” she said.
“We wouldn’t be able to open under those terms.”
She said: “When people keep asking what’s the difference between the cinema and the theatre? Why are cinemas allowed to reopen? Well, for one its because the actors in theatres are live. You would be asking artists to stand on stage and be exposed to potentially hundreds of people every night.”
She added: “If the statistics are right and one in 1,700 has coronavirus, that would mean of four shows at our theatre, there would be potentially one person in our audience who has it.
“And that person would be sitting in a confined space with 537 other people, as well as 15 actors, two stage managers and everyone else. We just can’t do that right now,” she said.
“So at the moment we are focusing on what we can do, which is more online and outdoor events, and work that can be potentially moved around to meet the audiences.”