Les Miserables - The Staged Concert

The DMT website now says the performance times are:

Tuesday - Saturday 7.15pm
Saturday: 2.00pm
Sunday: 3.00pm

So presumably all Tuesday performances will appear tomorrow (though who knows?!)

Some Tues perfs were held back as they knew JOJ would sell out quicker than AB. I would guess they'll release the rest tomorrow.

Yes, they are in it.

Reconfigured rows, so just like every seating plan that has ever existed it isnt really accurate! Plus everyone is wearing masks, which means that 2m social distancing is not actually required.

I really do despair about the extent to which people (Shenton etc) seem to be trying to find problems with this and reasons for it not to succeed, and assuming it is non-compliant when anyone with an ounce of common sense can work out that if it hadn't been assessed and certified as Covid-compliant then an organisation as big as DMT would not be doing it, as that would be the risk to their reputation. Shenton appears not to have engaged brain on anything except creating issues where there are none.

God forbid people are actually trying to get theatre up and running again...

All JOJ perfs now available including first couple of Tuesday perfs previously missing.

For those baulking at the layout or distancing, the answer is simple. Don't go.

The theatre is certified Covid compliant - if it still freaks you out then stay in your bubble and let the rest of us go without fear.

I'm currently sitting on a London overground train on my way to work. I would estimate about 50% of the train, which is busy, are wearing a face mask or wearing it correctly. In a few minutes I will get to Barking when there will be a scramble to get off the train and up the stairs with absolutely no regard for social distancing. When I get to work I will spend 8 hours in closer contact with colleagues than I would like to be.
Do I feel safe? Absolutely not.

I have, so far been to the Bridge Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and the London Palladium. Everyone wearing face masks, keeping their distance and very organised entry and exit. They couldn't do more for your wellbeing.
Did I feel safe? Absolutely yes.

Just wanted to share this with anyone feeling a bit concerned about returning to the theatre.

Remember this isn't his personal money. This is produced by a private company responsible for keeping many people employed in which Mackintosh holds a stake.

Aren't the actors as much of an employee as any other person from his company? Why must their value be diminished- actors putting in good, honest work to deliver stellar shows nightly- to cover the losses that the producer/producing company should bear, given that the show is produced by, well, the producers?

He's talking about the famous actors in the cast if that quote you provided is accurate - in other words, Matt Lucas and Alfie Boe took a pay cut from salaries that were presumably considerably larger than everyone else's, in order to ensure that all the other actors and production staff (who you seem happy to ignore) can be paid as much as possible while covering the running costs as any business would do. Possibly CHF and the other less famous leads took a bit of a cut, but all voluntary so no issue.

Doesn't sound as if the production company is going to make a huge profit out of this. Indeed, there is nothing about that whatsoever, and it seems very likely to me that they are just going to be covering costs given it is deliberately a short run.

Please read the quote properly rather than taking it out of context to create entirely unwarranted criticism.

I've provided the link to the article if you doubt the accuracy of my quote, which I assure you was done by simple copy & paste, after reading the quote properly  
 
Of course it's "all voluntary" otherwise they wouldn't be hired but no one says no to Cammack in the industry

Apparently I am happy to ignore the rest of the cast who "can be paid as much as possible" (where did you find that quote?) but I am simply pointing out that for every concession his PR people are willing to admit to the public there are dozens more left unsaid or forbidden to mention. Call it reading between the lines, rather than taking Cameron's PR manoeuvres word for word like you are happy to do so

Enjoy your show!

Why are people betchin about something so joyous and wonderful? Take off your misery masks and cynical shades and try seeing the world in a better light. This production is progress and sure as hell beats dark theatres.

Again, please read - I was including all the backstage staff who you seemed to have forgotten about entirely. There are many, many people who will need to be paid for this show to happen at all.

And being paid as much as possible is just a fact of life in the current circumstances - many people in all walks of life have taken pay cuts and pay freezes due to the current circumstances, that is just business. Any expectation that people will continue to be paid at pre-pandemic levels is living on another planet at present. Enabling jobs to continue so people can earn a wage at all is far more important.

And if you think the likes of Boe and Lucas wouldn't have the pull to say no to Cameron Mackintosh then I think you really have put him on a ridiculously high pedestal that isn't justified in the slightest.

Of course the press release doesn't give every single detail, nothing like that will ever tell the whole story. But neither does your unnecessary negativity, which is all assumptions in itself and a twisting of the words that are there which is entirely unsubstantiated. In the current times, I do have to question why on earth you are trying to create difficulties when the industry is facing enough of them as it is.