Curtains close on theatre revenue
Industry players set to lose due to COVID-19 shutdowns
IT’S NOT only partygoers who will be affected by the new rules put in place to combat community spreading of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Thespians and their fans will suffer the brunt, too, with some playhouses taking as many precautionary measures as possible and others announcing closure for the foreseeable future. Directors of Centerstage Theatre have decided to suspend all performances, starting yesterday, Thursday, March 12, until further notice. In healthier times, Centerstage Theatre would have played Jambiz International’s Windscream
Posse for the upcoming weekend and weeks or months to follow.
“In light of the concern and anxiety of the general public, and considering ourselves good citizens, we think that it would be a risky move to try and hold performances now. We’re thinking about our actors, our people who work in production, as well as the general public,” Glen Campbell of Jambiz International told
The Gleaner.
For the sake of the general public’s health and safety, the theatre and its players will lose.“There will be a certain degree of a loss of revenue because weekend shows would be our performances to the general public, so we would have lost out on that income, but the general health of our workers, and the country on a whole, is more important right now. So we’re gonna lose income, but I think it’s all good for the longer run,” he added.
While health and government officials preach caution as the nation hurtles towards imminent community spread of the virus, the Jambiz team maintains an optimistic outlook and asks ticket holders to hold on. “Quite a few of our performances are benefit performances, where organisations have bought out the house. Those tickets are still valid. We’ll be in touch and let you know the rescheduled dates. We will contact these persons and let them know of their new dates, and they, in turn, can inform their patrons,” Campbell said.
CONCERNED PARENTS
The Little Theatre will also be affected by COVID-19 in major ways. The theatre enjoys large patronage from local schools, and those institutions are facing closure for the next 14 days – as revealed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in a press briefing yesterday. “The teachers have indicated that some of the parents are concerned. They’re not too keen on sending out the kids right now. We’re watching to see what their response is, in terms of how confident they feel in working with bringing groups in to see the show. In the meantime, we are upping our sanitation practices,” team member, Anya Gloudon-Nelson, shared.
When The Gleaner contacted GloudonNelson, she was on her way back to The Little Theatre with newly purchased posters with hygiene advice and instructions. “On one hand, we’re handling the publichealth suggestions. On the other hand, we’re looking to see how the schools and patrons are reacting to it. As it stands right now, we are scaling back the number of performances we have for the next two or so weeks in keeping with the instructions from the ministry about reducing large public gatherings,” she said.