As COVID-19 rates decline, and we begin steps towards reopening the economy, the arts are likely to be one of the final industries to get back on its feet.
Last week, it was reported that Blackpool Grand Theatre could face permanent closure if it is not successful in receiving a government rescue grant.
The theatre, which announced this month that the cancellation of its pantomime is forcing it to begin redundancy consultations among staff, has now said that if social distancing continues, it may have to shut its doors for good.
Chief-executive Ruth Eastwood told the BBC that it has applied for £500,000 from the government’s Coronavirus relief fund for the arts, which could help it through until January 2021- the earliest point at which it could reopen.
Unlike West End theatres, regional (and specifically Northern) theatres rely heavily on their Christmas pantomimes to boost their coffers for the rest of the year. Blackpool Grand Theatre makes around 44% of its annual income from the festive period alone.
The current restrictions put this important British Christmas tradition at risk, and if theatres are forced to close then this form of family entertainment may be lost forever.
Eastwood said: “If social distancing is still in place, we would only have around 20% of our 1,000-seat capacity, which is just not viable.”
The government announced an arts bailout package of more than £1.57 billion in July. Without this bailout, institutions such as the Royal Opera House would have faced collapse by the end of the year.
While it is important to support our theatres and their workers on the West End, much more needs to be done to help theatres in the North and other regional areas.
In a new report, the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee claims that the government has consistently failed to recognise the scale of the “existential threat” facing the UK’s cultural institutions during the Coronavirus crisis.
Britain faces becoming a “cultural wasteland” with widespread theatre closures and mass redundancies in the arts because ministers acted too late to help the industry through the pandemic, MPs have warned.
“Each year, more people attend the theatre than go to a league football match, yet while considerable effort has been made to resume professional football, the government’s roadmap for when theatres will reopen has been vague and slow coming.”
With the recent announcement of Sir Ed Davey as leader of the Liberal Democrats, all three major political parties in England are led by men based in London constituencies. There is a threat that issues like regional theatre closures may not receive the attention for which they deserve.
To further complicate this matter, most theatre workers are freelance. Freelance workers make up over 70% of the cultural workforce compared to only 15.3% across the whole economy. Whether the bailout package will help save the theatre industry depends on how it is spent.
Of course, it is important to keep these buildings functioning, but they are of no use in and of themselves. It is the art made by freelancers which matters most, and which audiences pay to see.
These people are the set designers, artists, musicians, technicians, actors, stage managers, directors, composers, sound engineers, producers, and many other kinds of creative and skilled individuals.
The government support scheme for self-employed workers will stop at the end of October, but most theatres in the UK have already cancelled their programmes until at least the beginning of 2021, leaving millions of people with many months of uncertainty.
While permanent staff were furloughed at the beginning of lockdown, freelancers simply went home, often losing thousands of pounds in income. Now, even permanent staff are under threat with furlough scheme ending and companies beginning redundancy consultations.
Many artists are desperate to perform again, and while it is vital to do this in a safe way, theatre simply cannot make ends meet if they are only allowed to sell 20% of their capacity.
Now that outdoor, socially distanced performances are permitted, organisations could be doing more to commission and facilitate work outside the traditional theatre framework.
Outdoor performances, on the streets, into communities, drive-ins, on the beach, or livestreaming are only a few options which could be undertaken.
More funding could be prioritised for regional areas who often have more space to undertake these activities, unlike the West End in Central London.
Organisations receiving emergency funding should be thinking outside the box, rather than simply using the money to mothball themselves until this crisis is over. The government would do well by incentivising regional theatres to be creative with their programming.
This could provide employment opportunities for freelancers at a time when they are facing the most uncertainty as government support schemes end, and would prevent large swathes of incredibly talented, hardworking people being lost to other industries.
Most importantly, it would provide a welcome source of entertainment to the millions of people living in regional areas who have made huge sacrifices over the course of 2020.
Words by Richard Hansen.
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