‘My play made people realise they miss theatre – and need it’

Playwright Sir David Hare, 73, was behind one of the few plays to open in August, before theatres closed again

On 27 August, my play Beat the Devil – starring Ralph Fiennes – opened at the Bridge Theatre. The producer and director Nick Hytner was absolutely determined that British theatre should not close down, so he was the first to get his London theatre reopened. We had 250 people a night – socially distanced, in masks. The company had daily temperature checks. Ralph was very emotional to be back on stage. He insisted what a pleasure it was to play to an audience who never coughed. And audiences were thrilled to be there. It made people realise that they do miss theatre, and that they need it.

Beat the Devil is a monologue about my experience of Covid. I began to feel ill on 16 March. I was exhausted, with a high fever and wild changes of temperature. I spent 17 days in bed. My GP diagnosed me over Facetime and bombarded me with antibiotics, terrified it would go to my lungs. I started to have delusions. Everything smelled and tasted of sewage. For six days I was incapable of keeping anything down; I lost 8kg in a week. If it had continued, my GP would have admitted me to hospital. Luckily I began to get better.

I’m 73 and thought that by the winter we’d be in trouble again. So at the beginning of September, I fulfilled a lifelong ambition to go to Venice in the autumn.

I’ve since directed the film of Beat the Devil with Ralph. We tried to crew up with young people so they get some jobs. It’s the duty of every theatre to think about how best they can employ people again.

For theatres who can’t reopen, the pandemic has been catastrophic. In normal times, you have a guaranteed full house by putting on a pantomime. It’s how many survive, so it’s a make-orbreak moment.

The world has changed, and I think we’re going to see speedy changes in the theatre. I hope we’ll see a redirection of investment into the regions, and if theatre is to renew itself then some institutions have to be handed over to much younger artistic directors. It’s the way forward.