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Post by xanady on May 21, 2020 21:22:25 GMT
One really sad thing for the business is all the theatre/stage schools who have had to cancel shows,graduations etc and we now have newcomers entering the profession with so much uncertainty.My thoughts are with them all.
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Post by basdfg on May 21, 2020 21:23:49 GMT
At least there is possibilities of government subsidy - my friend in Seoul told me there is nothing for shut industries there so they will all likely go bust. Theatres are starting to re open there through but with some people unwilling or unable to go (Due to fear or employment contracts forbidding it.)
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Post by zahidf on May 21, 2020 22:38:19 GMT
James Graham very eloquent on question time very eloquent on the importance of the arts sector. Govt minister wasnt very much use but he did say antibody testing may help theatre get people in.
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Post by Mark on May 21, 2020 22:53:44 GMT
I agree! James Graham spoke for every single person working in theatre and the arts and did so in such a way to really get the point across.
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Post by basdfg on May 21, 2020 23:00:17 GMT
James Graham very eloquent on question time very eloquent on the importance of the arts sector. Govt minister wasnt very much use but he did say antibody testing may help theatre get people in. Through the minute benfits if you have had it happen people will go out to try and get it. Say if you can go clubbing if you have had but you haven't - people will either fake the documents or make sure they get it so they can enjoy things.
For theatre it might be worthwhile trying to get Londoners to go to out of London shows to help them as the west end can last longer without income and is able to bounce back better
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Post by duncan on May 22, 2020 7:02:20 GMT
 Yes lets take people from the petrie dish of infection that is London and let them spread death across the country.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 22, 2020 7:30:52 GMT
Except that London has some of the lowest rates of infection in the country (no new cases reported in the last 24 hours, and no deaths for 48 hours), and it’s being reported that London could be COVID-free within two weeks.
Regional theatres, especially in those areas which have been hard hit, may suffer more and find it harder to bounce back than theatres in London.
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Post by theglenbucklaird on May 22, 2020 7:43:50 GMT
Except that London has some of the lowest rates of infection in the country ( no new cases reported in the last 24 hours, and no deaths for 48 hours), and it’s being reported that London could be COVID-free within two weeks. Regional theatres, especially in those areas which have been hard hit, may suffer more and find it harder to bounce back than theatres in London. Fake news |
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 7:48:31 GMT
So whilst antibody testing will probably have it's uses, having some kind of 'immunity passport" allowing those with antibodies rights that those without are denied is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea.
Quite aside from the obvious problems that would be created when some people decide they want to get infected, the creation of some kind of two tier society (superimposed on all the other elements of two tier society that sadly exist) goes against everything of a fair, open, equal opportunity world we should all be striving for.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 22, 2020 7:55:46 GMT
Except that London has some of the lowest rates of infection in the country ( no new cases reported in the last 24 hours, and no deaths for 48 hours), and it’s being reported that London could be COVID-free within two weeks. Regional theatres, especially in those areas which have been hard hit, may suffer more and find it harder to bounce back than theatres in London. Fake news The statistic comes from Public Health England. www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/coronavirus-cases-london-figures-decline-phe-a4446336.html?amp |
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Post by Jan on May 22, 2020 8:02:48 GMT
Juliet Stevenson and others were on Front Row on BBC2 at 7pm discussing the future of theatre. She didn't think it would restart till next Spring. Why next Spring ? What does she think will be different then ? It is not useful just to mention dates, she should mention the actual conditions that she thinks need to apply before reopening. Austria is reopening theatres in stages based on audience size, up to 500 by August the first. They are about a month ahead of UK, but you could argue that with fewer having had the virus there the risk is higher than in London. One difference there is that the theatre industry is actively lobbying the government strongly to re-open - I don't see that here at all, I haven't seen a single theatre pushing to re-open, just requests for money. |
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Post by Jan on May 22, 2020 8:13:32 GMT
My heart says yes like a shot - missing theatre badly. The sensible head part of me which knows how badly I react to any form of medication (even paracetamol) and remembers just how ill I was with swine flu says don't even think about it. Trouble is I always did let my heart rule my head................................... Just out of interest, and off topic really, how would you feel about taking a vaccine which has been rushed through with - by definition - no data on any medium- or long-term side-effects it may have ? I wouldn't be rushing to have it. |
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Post by clair on May 22, 2020 8:18:30 GMT
I wouldn't dare - as I react badly to even paracetamol, am allergic to penicillin, antihistamine, ibuprofen, whatever the next thing down from penicillin's called and a dental sedation leaves me out cold for three days I'm not really up for anything that isn't necessary! If I didn't have any of that I might consider it but difficult to say when I know that medically I'd be told to wait anyhow.
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Post by crowblack on May 22, 2020 8:23:42 GMT
One difference there is that the theatre industry is actively lobbying the government strongly to re-open - I don't see that here at all, I haven't seen a single theatre pushing to re-open, just requests for money. With a virus that is disproportionately killing poorer and BAME people, maybe British theatre doesn't want to be a sector that contributes to the endangerment of those lives, especially as places like the Royal Court, NT and smaller theatres like to think of themselves as places that encourage diverse theatremakers and audiences rather than the typical white middle class broadsheet crowd? And is theatre something people can afford to go to right now? Most of the people I know who work in the arts/media and go to the theatre are freelancers and currently workless, or working from home and homeschooling. It's not like they could ask their grandparents or neighbours to come over to mind the kids while they go out for the evening, assuming they still had the energy. Meanwhile, if the West End relies heavily on tourism both within and beyond the UK, there's not much point in it reopening either. |
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Post by Jan on May 22, 2020 8:29:36 GMT
One difference there is that the theatre industry is actively lobbying the government strongly to re-open - I don't see that here at all, I haven't seen a single theatre pushing to re-open, just requests for money. With a virus that is disproportionately killing poorer and BAME people, maybe British theatre doesn't want to be a sector that contributes to the endangerment of those lives, especially as places like the Royal Court, NT and smaller theatres like to think of themselves as places that encourage diverse theatremakers and audiences rather than the typical white middle class broadsheet crowd? And is theatre something people can afford to go to right now? Most of the people I know who work in the arts/media and go to the theatre are freelancers and currently workless, or working from home and homeschooling. It's not like they could ask their grandparents or neighbours to come over to mind the kids while they go out for the evening, assuming they still had the energy. Meanwhile, if the West End relies heavily on tourism both within and beyond the UK, there's not much point in it reopening either. Fine. They should say that. "We don't want to re-open currently". But then they need to also say the conditions that need to apply before they would reopen. At the moment they are saying nothing. This sets them apart from other leisure sector companies like cinemas, pubs, restaurants which have all indicated some level of enthusiasm to get opened and have published plans as to what that might look like. |
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Post by Jan on May 22, 2020 8:38:24 GMT
If this is what we have to look forward to I'd rather not go I was just looking at tickets for a show in Amsterdam, the theatre holds nearly 1000 but they're selling less than 100 tickets... Looks like the Lyric Hammersmith circa 1990. |
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Post by glossie on May 22, 2020 8:48:00 GMT
Juliet Stevenson and others were on Front Row on BBC2 at 7pm discussing the future of theatre. She didn't think it would restart till next Spring. Why next Spring ? What does she think will be different then ? It is not useful just to mention dates, she should mention the actual conditions that she thinks need to apply before reopening. In response to a question, she said that she should have been doing a play later this year but had been told by the producers that it was unlikely now to happen before next spring. |
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Post by Jan on May 22, 2020 8:53:24 GMT
Why next Spring ? What does she think will be different then ? It is not useful just to mention dates, she should mention the actual conditions that she thinks need to apply before reopening. In response to a question, she said that she should have been doing a play later this year but had been told by the producers that it was unlikely now to happen before next spring. Oh OK, that's slightly different then, my question would be directed at the producers and in that case it matters a lot if they are in the commercial or subsidised sectors because I expect their outlooks are different. Just commercially, due to foreign tourism, their horizon for opening may be longer. |
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Post by londonpostie on May 22, 2020 9:00:30 GMT
With a virus that is disproportionately killing poorer and BAME people
If you said whites had a lower death rate becasue they were better shielded by remote working (inc. no public transport) and non-key worker employment it might be more relevant. The middle class stayed home, because they could.
Unclear how this is a factor in this discussion
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Post by Jan on May 22, 2020 9:08:37 GMT
With a virus that is disproportionately killing poorer and BAME people
If you said whites had a lower death rate becasue they were better shielded by remote working (inc. no public transport) and non-key worker employment it might be more relevant. The middle class stayed home, because they could.
Unclear how this is a factor in this discussion
Actually the most numerous at-risk group in the NT audiences I have seen are white men over 65. As I see it the problem in getting theatres back is not so much the audience, if they opened today with reduced capacity I'd go and by extension I imagine enough other people would go too, but rather the creatives and specifically the actors - I'd like to hear from them in the same way we hear from teachers to hear what their specific concerns are, and what their proposals for addressing those are. |
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Post by londonpostie on May 22, 2020 9:20:39 GMT
Stats say over 70s should be shielding until a vaccine so don't really see them as part of the discussion. Brutal as it is, their route out of this seems the clearest.
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Post by basdfg on May 22, 2020 9:43:25 GMT
Denmark reopening theatres but with social distancing.
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Post by crowblack on May 22, 2020 9:47:17 GMT
If you said whites had a lower death rate becasue they were better shielded by remote working (inc. no public transport) and non-key worker employment it might be more relevant. The middle class stayed home, because they could.
Unclear how this is a factor in this discussion
It's a factor that has been discussed regarding sports (google it!) with some BAME footballers unhappy with an early return, multigenerational households also being a factor here. Prolonged exposure to the virus appears to be a factor with severity of your illness, so 2 or 3 hours sitting next to someone with it is worse than a brief encounter in other work conditions, and sport and theatre are both leisure activities and not worth risking lives for. |
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 13:31:41 GMT
Juliet Stevenson and others were on Front Row on BBC2 at 7pm discussing the future of theatre. She didn't think it would restart till next Spring. Why next Spring ? What does she think will be different then ? It is not useful just to mention dates, she should mention the actual conditions that she thinks need to apply before reopening. Austria is reopening theatres in stages based on audience size, up to 500 by August the first. They are about a month ahead of UK, but you could argue that with fewer having had the virus there the risk is higher than in London. One difference there is that the theatre industry is actively lobbying the government strongly to re-open - I don't see that here at all, I haven't seen a single theatre pushing to re-open, just requests for money. Dr Jan, am not sure I agree with all you say - but you do raise an interesting and important point. Forgetting whether it would be right or wrong, theatres really are not lobbying to reopen in the same way that most of the rest of the leisure sector is. Which is odd. |
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 13:42:15 GMT
Playing devil's advocate here.
Another thought. What are people really expecting to be different in the Autumn or in Spring 2021?
It is my personal view that we will not have an effective vaccine even a year from now.
Based on a) previous attempts at vaccines for coronaviruses and b) how long it takes to create any safe, effective, mass produced vaccine for anything.
I'd LOVE to be wrong. But that's what I think.
In which case, what difference does it make if theatres open tomorrow, September, or February? I mean, hopefully track and trace will be better by then, but otherwise not much I'd argue.
In fact you could say opening tomorrow would be much safer than September or February, as the lock down we have just had has been pretty successful and as it is released, the R number can only rise. Hopefully not by much but rise it will.
(I mean same with schools - they will be safer in June than in September).
Now am not saying we should be rushing in to fill theatres immediately. But I do think there needs to be a bit of suck it and see. And the government and theatre industry could work much more proactively together. Keep the bars closed, open auditorium at same time as building, maybe aim for 50% capacity, facemasks, temperature checks, whatever etc etc. Come up with some suggestions! It would be nice to see something proactive.
And then of course the GBP can make their own decisions about whether they want to go or not. We are all adults.
I DO appreciate it's not simple. And I often change my own mind about what should be done. And yes, I agree with most, we need to wait a little bit longer. But not indefinitely. They can't pin everything on 'let's wait for a vaccine' or 'it's impossible to social distance in a theatre' or we could be here forever.
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