Prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that England will move to Step 4 of the Government roadmap on 19 July 2021, meaning that theatres will be able to return to full attendance levels.
NEWS: Step 4 of the Government roadmap is still on track for 19 July, announces PM Boris Johnson
Next Monday prime minister Boris Johnson will announce his decision on whether legal restrictions – including those related to social distancing and wearing of face masks – will be lifted in England on 19 July when Step 4 of the Government roadmap is due to be reached.
NEWS: Delay to theatres fully reopening until at least 19 July is greeted with dismay across the industry
As predicted, the Government has confirmed it will shelve the full reopening of theatres in England until 19 July 2021 at the earliest.
Are we all going to rush to the theatre as soon as social distancing is no more?
Do we have to become responsible for our own Covid safety? So, the man who (allegedly) said he didn’t mind if the bodies were piled high, he didn’t want to impose another lockdown — until he, in fact, did — is now embarking on another experiment in which that may indeed turn out to be outcome. On 21 June, all social distancing is to be scrapped in the UK.
A year on: Mark Shenton reflects on the theatre shutdown in the West End & beyond
It was just after 5pm on 16 March 2020 that Boris Johnson made his heart (and business) stopping announcement: “Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel. We need people to start working from home where they possibly can. And you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues.”
Let’s avoid start-stop misery on the road to theatres’ recovery
On Monday Boris Johnson announced his (apparently irreversible) plans to take us out of lockdown forever. He even provided a detailed timetable of dates when each stage should be implemented.
NEWS: Theatres could open in May but distancing rules are likely to remain until June at the earliest
Theatres will reopen subject to social distancing rules in May 2021, the Government has announced, but with no likelihood of operating at full capacity before late June at the earliest.
Coming out of lockdown: Is it better to wait than to rush to open theatres & risk everything?
Setting a timetable requires Johnson to be a clairvoyant, predicting the future way of a virus that, to be honest, is only really getting started. Yes, vaccines are being done fast (I got my first dose on Saturday), but lifting the lid on Pandora’s box too quickly — by setting a timetable for reopening — won’t benefit anyone’s mental health, if it simply exacerbates the virus and leads to the necessity to shut down again.
NEWS: Boris Johnson hints at first steps towards theatres reopening
Nearly one year after theatres were forced to close by the onset of the Covid pandemic, prime minister Boris Johnson has delivered the first indication that auditoria could reopen.
‘There’s no saying where theatres will be by the time summer arrives’: Is the light at the end of the tunnel even further away?
It won’t be until the vaccine programme has been fully and successfully rolled out throughout the nation, and any necessary tweaks established for mutant strains, that there may be enough confidence to begin to even think about going indoors again to sit amongst strangers.
Catching up with the compelling landscape of political theatre both at home & in the US
Though I’ve spent most of the last nine months really missing the real theatre that has fuelled my life for the last 40 or so years since I started going compulsively from the age of around 16, I’ve spent more time than I’d have liked in a different kind of theatre — an operating one, when I had three spinal surgeries in the space of 15 days in September. And I’ve become particularly obsessed by another kind of theatre, too: political theatre.
NEWS: New Coronavirus restrictions will limit capacity in Tier 1 & 2 theatres & close those in Tier 3
When England moves back into a Tier system at 12.01am on 2 December 2020, indoor theatre performances will be allowed in Tiers 1 and 2 with an audience of 1,000 socially distanced people or 50% occupancy, whichever is smaller. However, in Tier 3 such events will not be allowed.
NEWS: Oliver Dowden confirms theatre rehearsals & streamed performances without audiences can go ahead
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has confirmed via social media that rehearsals can go ahead at arts venues during the forthcoming four-week Coronavirus lockdown from 5 November to 2 December 2020 as they are regarded as ‘places of work’. Live-streamed performances are also allowed but audiences are not permitted.
NEWS: Coronavirus rules mean return to theatre lockdowns across UK
Scores of productions devised to comply with social distancing have become casualties of the national lockdown that will run for one month from 5 November to 2 December 2020 in response to the continuing Coronavirus crisis.
NEWS: Return of indoor performances delayed until 15 August 2020
There was a blow to any producers planning socially distanced indoor performances from 1 August 2020 when prime minister Boris Johnson announced that the easing of restrictions on theatre and music venues, amongst others, had been delayed to 15 August.
NEWS: Cameron Mackintosh tells Evening Standard West End Phantom is being ‘shut down’
In a candid self-penned article in the Evening Standard, producer Cameron Mackintosh has revealed that he and Andrew Lloyd Webber have been forced to “sadly permanently shut down” the iconic West End production of The Phantom of the Opera as a consequence of the Coronavirus crisis.
NEWS: Indoor performances with socially distanced audiences will be allowed from 1 August 2020
Following on from the news that open air venue productions could go ahead earlier this month, culture secretary Oliver Dowden and prime minister Boris Johnson have announced plans for a limited return of indoor socially-distanced theatre productions from 1 August 2020 subject to the success of previously planned pilot performances.
NEWS: Government announces £1.5 billion lifeline for UK arts & culture
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has bowed to pressure from the arts world and unveiled a £1.57 billion lifeline for the UK’s theatres, venues and museums struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
NEWS: West End & UK theatres to close with immediate effect
In light of the continued coronavirus emergency and advice from Prime Minister Boris Johnson that people should avoid “pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues” during the pandemic, SOLT and UK Theatre has announced that member venues will close from the evening of Monday 16 March 2020.
Text of the Day: Philip Pullman on lying
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2