Theatres have been closed for what feels like a lot longer than 525,600 minutes. However 273,600 minutes doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
With Covid-19 cases on the rise and more restrictions, it’s still unclear when the industry will be able to properly reopen.
The pandemic has hit all of the areas of the arts industry extremely hard. This prolonged absence has left many freelancers and performers unemployed, with many theatres struggling financially.
It was reported in 2019 that the arts and culture industry contributes £10.8 billion to the economy a year. With theatres receiving around 34 million visitors annually, there is no doubt that they contribute to the U.Ks tourism industry.
The point of no return
With the industry being so drastically affected, composer and musical theatre impresario, Andrew Lloyd Webber has commented the industry is at the “point of no return“.
His concern comes from the government’s information that theatres can open, but they must comply with social distancing. In July 2020, Lloyd Webber hosted a socially distanced performance with the government’s health and safety rules. The event was hosted at the London Palladium with Beverley Knight generously performing for free. Unfortunately it isn’t economically viable to run a show at limited capacity, due to the labour and funding.
“Almost a labour of love”
As many people within the industry, Lloyd Webber is passionate to get theatres back up and running after spending £100,000 on the performance. It’s this passion that he says, “There comes a point now when we really can’t go on much more.” Introducing a brand-new show into the West End and keeping it running is ‘almost a labour of love’ as ‘very few shows hit the jackpot in the way a Hamilton, Lion King, or Phantom of the Opera do.’
The new normal
“Every time you think you’ve made a step forward […] you get another thing happening”
As more restrictions are being put into place causing barriers for getting the arts industry back to a new normal, Lloyd Webber has particularly felt this, “I mean, every time you think you’ve made a step forward – and on the theatre front I genuinely think we were making a step forward because I think the argument was being accepted – you get another thing happening”.
Thankfully for one show, the government’s rule of six won’t ruin their reopening, as both the West End and tour cast of Six are set to return this November. This announcement has followed news that other theatres under Nimax will also be reopening. Which will see shows like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, reopen for the first time since 16th March 2020.
Many fans have taken to social media to express their opinions on the state of the industry. Twitter was inundated with responses arguing that Lloyd Webber must surely have enough money to be able to save the industry himself. Whereas others were celebrating Six returning to our theatres.
Even if Andrew Lloyd Webber could save the industry on his own, what lockdown has proved is how little support the government gave the industry when they needed it the most. If it wasn’t for the passion and resilience from performers, producers and freelancers then I don’t think the industry would be where it is now.
Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Featured image courtesy of @Vlah Dumitru via Unsplash. Image license can be found here.