724 posts
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Post by basdfg on May 22, 2020 21:04:26 GMT
Is there any precedent of a theatre going bust.
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Post by londonpostie on May 22, 2020 21:37:24 GMT
Dawnstar Oh I see. The company will come out of admin at some point, either becasue it's been bought (unlikely) or to continue to liquidation. You'll get an email at that stage, I would guess. When push comes to shove (i.e. liquidation) you will be an unsecured creditor and, well, good luck getting anything at that point. If you have an option via your credit card that is the best route, though I can't help with timeline.
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1,848 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on May 22, 2020 21:42:37 GMT
The only option open is if you paid by credit card.
You could contact the administrators but you will be low down the pecking order as the assets are sold off.
If the company comes out of administration its debts will likely be written off and the new owners will not have any liability for the previous losses.
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2,540 posts
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Post by n1david on May 22, 2020 22:21:06 GMT
Just get in touch with the issuer if you paid by credit or debit card. The company who charged you has not provided the services you paid for. It's nothing to do with the producer, your contract is with the theatre. If you paid by credit card, get in touch with your credit card company to raise a Sction 75 refund. If you paid by debit card, get in touch with your bank and request a Chargeback. Section 75 is robust and you'll get your money back. Chargeback is a bit more hit and miss but worth a try, But don't bother with the administrators or the remaining staff at the Haymarket, just get in touch with your card issuer as long as you paid with plastic.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on May 23, 2020 6:49:21 GMT
I think Section 75 only applies if the purchase is over £100, but you should still be able to do a chargeback. As David says, I would just get in touch with your card issuer. My understanding is that it is your card issuer, not you, who is a creditor of the failed organisation. So they should refund you, and its up to them to try to get the cash back from the administrators.
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3,935 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on May 23, 2020 11:36:43 GMT
It was only £38 & paid by debit card so I guess I'll have to try to contact my bank on Monday, if I can work out how to, and see what they say. I guess it's not a huge amount if I can't get it back, just a bit annoying.
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2,706 posts
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Post by Cardinal Pirelli on May 23, 2020 12:09:03 GMT
Yup, all true to an extent. The UK's average BMI and T2DM burden won't change in a year though. And herd immunity, if R stays where it is will not provide much difference. But certainly we will have more medical experience which can only be positive. In terms of avoiding winter flu - well either we go for now, or we wait until next March ish before actors can even audition again.... As I say though, I am playing devil's advocate here and providing a different viewpoint - I'm not saying I think it's right to prepare to get back into business now. But I think any changes other than a vaccine are small fry. Indeed herd immunity will take for ever at 3- 5% infected rates, and slow spread. . Its the vaccine we need , and you would hope that with so many vaccines , based on alternative approaches one will work, even if like flu you need regular top ups. the other possibility is that one of the medical blocking treatments can be taken before infection.
Theatre faces specific problems according to some of the research on spread coming out, if its right. This theory, based on tracing the path of transmission via genetic testing of the virus in different victims , suggest that most spread has been by relatively few people in specific situations. Meet outside in sunshine and with normal airflow and your chances of the virus spreading to you go down by a factor of 17. Put the same people in an enclosed space indoors and you have a problem. Add on activity that creates expelled air and viral particles with some force behind them - in the form of loud speaking , singing, or, heavy ,exercise induced, breathing, and you end up with complete choirs and exercise classes going down with covid19. That argues for social distancing to be maintained at a strong level in theatres, which may be impractical and uneconomic, and as the letter to the telegraph points out incompatible with the plot on stage.
There's also the practicalities. Much of a winter audience have coughs- whose going to sit in a room of coughing people? Transport into Cities will be limited by distancing, so how does much of the audience reliably get there? Public toilets are usually unpleasant, and in confined airless spaces , but how does an audience survive without one? How do you exit and enter without forming a crowd inside or outside? And how can you make the money add up with no tourists and social distancing shredding seat numbers?
Basically, you need government to step in and keep things together until they can reopen again. The medium to long term economics clearly support that. And in the meantime you need to think of something for actors, who tend to be bright, capable, people to do filling in gaps in sectors like education and other public services.
There's also more that could be offered on line. Those of us who know who we think is good, and would pay to see or listen to them on line, would be happy to see more online concerts, or even plays. The problem is that we don't really have enough knowledge in the potential audience audience of who is good,or whats available online , Its much easier to produce one of the brilliant collaborative covers of one song than something longer, and the economics are against producers putting the effort in for what may be too small a return.
The way that the virus is spread through the air is the real worry. In a business that relies on people projecting their voices to the back row then the very act of acting is an increased risk. For those in musicals, I can imagine that is even more the case. In a sick twist, it also makes an audience at a comedy at greater risk than one where they keep their mouth shut. A large number of Broadway performers seemed to get ill, so it would be useful to have a study as to how and when this spread (Moulin Rouge seemed to be particularly hard hit). As for singalong performances, well, you can imagine. Gyms, clubs, theatres, gigs, religious gatherings, choirs etc., the start reality is that all of these are vectors for transmission.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on May 23, 2020 14:04:29 GMT
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3,935 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on May 23, 2020 16:56:06 GMT
Thanks for the links. Unfortunately it says you have to claim within 120 days of paying & I booked back in December so I'm outside the claim limit. I'll try contacting my bank but suspect it'll be a no.
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2,540 posts
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Post by n1david on May 23, 2020 17:08:15 GMT
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4,598 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 25, 2020 5:01:51 GMT
Could this work?
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2,274 posts
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Post by theatreian on May 25, 2020 9:46:50 GMT
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1,724 posts
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Post by stevejohnson678 on May 25, 2020 13:11:47 GMT
It was only £38 & paid by debit card so I guess I'll have to try to contact my bank on Monday, if I can work out how to, and see what they say. I guess it's not a huge amount if I can't get it back, just a bit annoying. I rang my bank (Halifax) with a similar query today, since I paid by debit card for two tickets for a show at Southport Theatre, another venue which has recently gone into liquidation. All I needed to log the claim over the phone was the date of the original payment, the date when the show was due to take place, the name of the venue, and the payment amount. With the claim opened, I was then asked to email evidence, attaching confirmation of the original booking, proof of the liquidation, and any evidence the performance didn't take place (e.g. email from the venue, statement on website etc). All seems pretty painless so far and I got straight through within seconds on the phone - couldn't believe it!
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18,864 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 25, 2020 17:56:39 GMT
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4,598 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 25, 2020 18:23:41 GMT
Barnard Castle has never had so much publicity...
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Post by nick on May 25, 2020 18:44:44 GMT
As an optimist, I was thinking that it is indeed an opportunity for the next generation to begin taking over. However he really doesn't show any sympathy which is great for starting Twitter storms. I suppose that was the aim.
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6,353 posts
Member is Online
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Post by Jon on May 25, 2020 19:23:50 GMT
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Post by CG on the loose on May 26, 2020 16:15:59 GMT
Thanks for the links. Unfortunately it says you have to claim within 120 days of paying & I booked back in December so I'm outside the claim limit. I'll try contacting my bank but suspect it'll be a no. I too had tickets for a show at the Haymarket and just contacted my bank (via chat on the mobile app) based on the advice above. Within an hour, based on providing transaction date/value, number of tickets, and name of show, I had credits on my account for both the transaction value AND interest! They will now try and contact the company and if they can prove the transaction was genuine (i.e. for a show that went ahead) the credits will be reversed. I was gearing myself for a battle but that was astonishingly simple. Do give it a go if you haven't already. And thanks @zanderl
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Post by talkingheads on May 26, 2020 22:09:38 GMT
Imagine being an arts editor and writing the actual sentence "English theatre bores me"
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2,153 posts
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Post by richey on May 26, 2020 22:17:30 GMT
One solution to distancing from Germany
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579 posts
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Post by christya on May 27, 2020 15:28:05 GMT
Disastrous though that looks from a financial perspective, my short self can't help but think "Hey! No heads in front of me! I'd be able to see - and from the stalls!"
That's if I could get a ticket...
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7,553 posts
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Post by alece10 on May 27, 2020 16:58:48 GMT
Disastrous though that looks from a financial perspective, my short self can't help but think "Hey! No heads in front of me! I'd be able to see - and from the stalls!" That's if I could get a ticket... And everyone gets an aisle seat.
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Post by clair on May 27, 2020 17:49:38 GMT
And they've catered for solo theatregoers which makes a nice change!
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on May 27, 2020 19:00:21 GMT
I too had tickets for a show at the Haymarket and just contacted my bank (via chat on the mobile app) based on the advice above. Within an hour, based on providing transaction date/value, number of tickets, and name of show, I had credits on my account for both the transaction value AND interest! They will now try and contact the company and if they can prove the transaction was genuine (i.e. for a show that went ahead) the credits will be reversed. I was gearing myself for a battle but that was astonishingly simple. Do give it a go if you haven't already. And thanks @zanderl Brilliant, really pleased the advice was useful and the process was so painless!
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Post by theoracle on May 27, 2020 19:44:06 GMT
Perhaps for a different thread but seeing as social distancing is likely to be enforced for the rest of the year and possibly beyond until there is a vaccine/other solution according to our CMO, I was wondering how seating plans will operate? What if I'm attending with my hypothetically large household of 7? Would we be allocated as we arrive or would there be some sort of algorithm to sort this?
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4,159 posts
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 7:58:29 GMT
The PM said yesterday that the social distancing measures could be reduced from 2m apart, probably line with the WHO guidance of only 1m apart. Now that is still a challenge but surely that would be a slightly easier situation for theatres to potentially re-open with?
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Post by vickyg on May 28, 2020 8:37:08 GMT
The PM said yesterday that the social distancing measures could be reduced from 2m apart, probably line with the WHO guidance of only 1m apart. Now that is still a challenge but surely that would be a slightly easier situation for theatres to potentially re-open with? That would be very interesting as I was reading about the test and trace strategy which says close contact requiring tracing is defined as 'within 2m for 15mins or more, or 1m for any length of time'. Sort of makes it seem like if you're going to be 1m away you may as well lick them as far as that strategy is concerned and you could be sitting in the 'normal' theatre configuration without additional risk. It doesn't really indicate that when sitting in a theatre for two or more hours a one or two metre distance makes much of a difference and it does make me question the impact of this kind of social distancing, beyond the psychological one. I suppose face coverings would help. At this point I think I would be willing to sit in basically normal configuration, maybe with seats pulled slightly apart so you can avoid touching the person next to you accidentally.
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Post by poster J on May 28, 2020 8:55:14 GMT
At this point I think I would be willing to sit in basically normal configuration, maybe with seats pulled slightly apart so you can avoid touching the person next to you accidentally. What difference would that make though? Accidentally brushing against someone's arm isn't going to give you coronavirus. If people wear masks so any coughs nd sneezes don't carry, and wash their hands regularly, that should be sufficient. If people arent willing to go despite those precautions, that is of course their choice.
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Post by talkingheads on May 28, 2020 8:58:41 GMT
The PM said yesterday that the social distancing measures could be reduced from 2m apart, probably line with the WHO guidance of only 1m apart. Now that is still a challenge but surely that would be a slightly easier situation for theatres to potentially re-open with? I don't understand. The virus hasn't gone away. We have the highest death rate in the world. How can anyone be comfortable with this
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4,159 posts
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Post by HereForTheatre on May 28, 2020 9:13:33 GMT
The PM said yesterday that the social distancing measures could be reduced from 2m apart, probably line with the WHO guidance of only 1m apart. Now that is still a challenge but surely that would be a slightly easier situation for theatres to potentially re-open with? I don't understand. The virus hasn't gone away. We have the highest death rate in the world. How can anyone be comfortable with this Comfortable with? Reducing the distance limit or going back to the theatre?
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