Do your bit! See a show
Struggling theatres prepare to open doors
BRITAIN’S nation of theatre lovers are being urged by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to “do their bit” and pack out shows as stages around the country prepare to roar back to life this spring.
Writing exclusively today for the Daily Express’s Raise The Curtain crusade Mr Dowden says: “I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure actors are treading the boards, patrons taking their seats, and curtains lifting across the country as soon as possible.”
But he says the time has now come for theatre lovers to help revive the decimated industry after the Government’s unprecedented £2billion rescue package for the arts ensured that they could survive the pandemic.
He added: “When the time comes – and it won’t be long – we need to start filling seats.”
The Express can reveal today that the nation’s theatre industry has suffered a staggering £1.1billion loss since stage curtains fell a year ago.
And £100million in additional costs has been accrued as the pandemic ripped the heart out of our world-leading industry.
Before lockdown, the UK’s creative industries – including theatre and the performing arts – were growing at almost twice the rate of the wider UK economy. With the surrounding economy of restaurants and bars, they were a financial juggernaut that was worth £84.1billion a year to the national coffers, and employed approaching two million people.
This coming Tuesday, to mark the exact moment when more than 1,000 venues were forced to switch on the ghost lights with just a few minutes’ warning, theatres across Britain will once again be turned emergency red to highlight their ongoing plight.
Thousands of workers throughout the industry have lost their jobs – many will never return.
However, amidst the desperation caused by the pandemic, the Government’s £2billion Cultural Recovery Fund and the job retention furlough scheme has also ensured that alongside cherished venues, hundreds of thousands of other jobs have been saved.
And Daily Express readers have been among the millions of members of the British theatre-loving public to support our Raise The Curtain crusade by paying to watch streamed performances and supporting the crucial fundraising initiatives that have been run by venues the length and breadth of the UK.
Last month the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown offered the potential for theatres to resume performances with socially distanced audiences from May 17 and full houses on June 21.
Paying tribute to the Express’s campaign for “shining a light” on the crucial work theatres do beyond the scenes, Mr Dowden said: “That includes all the things they do backstage while the show carries on out front, to help communities, whether it’s through dementia projects or youth inclusion programmes.”
In the past week many of theWest End’s best-loved theatres have joined a plethora of regional venues in announcing plans for performances to resume on May 17.
Tickets will go on sale as soon as Step Two of the roadmap – scheduled for April 12 – is confirmed.
Here, some renowned industry figures give their thoughts on the past year of hell...