Curfew pulls curtain
THE curfew imposed by the authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19 is having a debilitating impact on yet another segment of the entertainment sector.
The local theatre scene has come to a screeching halt since March of this year when the pandemic was announced. However, in August producers
Jambiz International took the initiative to take their production — The Windscream Posse — back to the stage, given the relaxation of some of the measures to counter the spread of the virus.
The comedy, which stars Jambiz staples including
Glen “Titus” Campbell, Sakina Deer, and Courtney Wilson, ran for a number of weeks at the Little Theatre in St Andrew, a larger venue than their home at Centrestage Theatre in
New Kingston and, as a result, was able to observe a COVID-19 protocols, particularly social distancing, as only a percentage of the seating capacity was being utilised.
However, the production’s run at the Little Theatre was cut short as a result of the tightening of the measures.
According to Jambiz principal, Lenford Salmon, the early curfew times made it impossible to continue.
“The curfew times were first at 7:00 pm then moved to 8:00 and then 9:00. This does not allow us to stage the production and get our patrons out of the theatre and home before the start of the curfew, especially on a weekday. Technically, we could mount the production on a weekend [Saturday and Sunday] as we could do early shows and end at a reasonable hour, but with the recent spike… the number of infections of between
200 and 300 per day, and deaths as a result of the virus reported at eight, nine, and 10 per day, we know people are going to be a little shy about going into an enclosed space,” Salmon told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash.
Currently, the curfew runs from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am and is slated to remain in place until 5:00 am on October 7, 2020. As of yesterday morning, close to 6,500 people tested positive for the virus, while reported deaths stood at 107.
Salmon noted that during the run at the Little Theatre, the production was able