Waiting to raise THE CURTAIN
London’s West End faces fears for survival as theatres stay dark
Agatha Christie’s murder-mystery play The Mousetrap has been staged continuously in London since 1952, making it the world’s longest-running show.
But the coronavirus lockdown brought the famous production to an abrupt halt in March, along with the musicals Les Misérables — showing since 1985 — and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera — staged since 1986.
As the U.K. faces months of restrictions on social gatherings, there’s no prospect of any of London’s West End hits opening again soon. Live theatre in the land of William Shakespeare now faces a crisis from which many in the business fear it might never fully recover.
When the lights went out at the end of a production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre on March 14, the actors didn’t know it was for the last time. Two days later, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Britons to avoid theatres.
“Our business model just stopped,” Sheffield Theatres’ artistic director Robert Hastie said. “We lost nearly 90 per cent of the money coming in, and that is presenting us with enormous business problems.”
The government’s 60-page strategy for getting the U.K. working again doesn’t mention reopening the country’s more than 1,000 theatres.
Even as the U.K. takes what Johnson called its first “baby steps” to get the economy moving, the virus makes it hard for theatres to host audiences. Social distancing rules — with people required to keep two metres apart in public — are “here to stay,” according to ministers.
“If social distancing is maintained, theatres will not be able to open: simple as that,” said Rebecca Kane Burton, chief executive officer of LW Theatres, Lloyd Webber’s portfolio of venues.
The industry operates by packing strangers into cramped auditoriums, with actors in close contact on stage and support crews behind the scenes.
“A West End production can cost 5 to 7 million pounds ($8.5 to $12 million) before it even hits the stage,” Kane Burton said. “Theatre producers are already incredibly bold for doing this in a normal environment. With social distancing in place, why would you take the risk with no prospect of breaking even, let alone any of the upside?”
The pandemic poses a threat to venues from the smallest provincial theatres to London’s West End, which draws tourists from all over the world to see musicals such as The Lion King, Wicked and Mamma Mia! According to Kane Burton, musical theatres need to be at 60-70 per cent capacity just to cover costs.
There are already casualties. The Artrix Arts Centre in Bromsgrove stopped trading in April. The Old Vic, one of London’s most prestigious theatres, is in a “seriously perilous” financial situation, Artistic director Matthew Warchus told The Guardian.
“Progressively as you go through June, July, August and into September, theatres just start having cash-flow issues,” said Julian Bird, chief executive officer of the Society of London Theatre and U.K. Theatre. He said the industry will need government assistance not just for actors and theatres but for the “whole ecology” of the sector, including agents, lighting and sound designers, set builders, and costume and wig makers.
The performing arts and associated creative industry contributed 9.9 billion pounds ($16.9 billion) to the U.K. economy last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In mid-may, 245 musicians from 30 West End shows and major orchestras wrote to members of Parliament to warn the performing industries face “annihilation.”
“They will be instrumental not only in getting our country back on its feet again, but in reminding us what life is supposed to be about,” they wrote.
Some support is available. The government has brought in tax holidays, grants and a program for the state to pay the wages of furloughed workers through October and Arts Council England has announce a 160 million-pound ($272 million) emergency fund.
“We are working with the creative and cultural sectors to plan for the future, understand their challenges and consider a variety of ways to ensure safe working,” the Culture Department said in a statement. “As soon as it is safe to do so, we will be encouraging everyone to visit the U.K.’S vibrant entertainment venues.”
But many of the industry’s self-employed workers fall through the cracks in support programs, and the funding so far doesn’t come close to replacing revenue: U.K. theatres took in 1.3 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) in 2018, with a combined audience of more than 34 million people. Last year, London’s West End alone took in 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion).
Even if theatres are allowed to reopen, they’ll face major logistical difficulties. Long-running shows may need new cast members as well as fresh marketing campaigns to drive ticket sales, according to Kane Burton. Venues without a show will need months to audition and rehearse, as well as to build sets and arrange costumes.
Then there is the question of how to make venues safe. LW Theatres has bought hundreds of self-sanitizing door handles to test. The company is also looking at taking temperatures, providing staff with protective equipment and encouraging the public to wear face masks. Other measures could include deep cleaning and one-way systems for audiences moving around the buildings.
Giles Watling, a Conservative member of Parliament who’s spent 55 years in show business, said he’s urged Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to ensure the arts don’t get put to “the back of the queue” as they do “so often.” He stressed the importance of protecting regional theatres that feed the more resilient London West End, adding that the industry “is a vital part of our world offer.”