Getting recreation and leisure up and running again.

Ah but there is a significant difference between wearing a mask and wearing it properly and at all times where it is supposed to be mandatory...

I believe they're doing a test at Leipzig Concert Hall fairly soon with a full audience who are wearing face coverings and will be tested to see how the virus spreads:
restart19.de/en/

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child have announced they won't be reopening until the 21st of February!

Full marks for lateral thinking to the Phoenix Arts Club... they got ready for the return of socially-distanced indoor performances from 1 August until the plug was pulled and with no update on that, they've rethought and are now relaying their 'Saturday Supershow' live from a television studio in Fitzrovia to two large projections screens in front of their socially-distanced audience at the club.

the-phoenix-arts-club.designmynight.com/5d9b250f0dc8ee368c7c670b/the-saturday-supershow

Respect to Lloyd Webber. He really will stop at nothing and I love that.

I went to the New Normal Festival tonight to see Natasha Barnes and Vicki Stone in what I believe is the final night of their short "Funny Gals" tour.

Feels so good to have seen some theatre and both ladies were terrific.

The venue is difficult. Outside in a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by parts of the building. Sheltered stage at one side. Barbecue at another. Seats are arranged to suit different size groups and first-come first-served. I arrived about 40 minutes before the start and could only get a seat near the back. Unfortunately the seating area is on a slight slope, so it gets very hard to see.

Very surprised that only a handful of people, other than the crew, were wearing masks. In face people really weren't respecting social distancing much at all. People were moving chairs, greeting other people they knew etc and a lot of the blocks weren't 1m apart.

My biggest concern is that the venue really isn't suited for musicals. The seating is on gravel, people naturally move their feet and this creates a nasty scraping noise. People also seen to think talking is acceptable at any time and there was one very loud group seated at a table behind me who I presume really only wanted to use their local pub to drink and chat. Thankfully they left (or were removed) about halfway through. They really ruined "Greatest Star" which otherwise was one of the highlights of the night. The cleaning and taking down of the barbecue was also exceptionally loud.

On positive notes, the weather held up and it was a very pleasant evening. The staff were all helpful. I didn't try the barbecue, but it was half price (Monday to Wednesday) and lots of people were tucking in. The show was very funny with lots of musical hits from the start of musical theatre to today.

Laughing with a mask on is not easy!

Show ran from 20:05 to 21:15, which I presume is about average for the whole season.

Not sure yet if I'd go there again. This probably works better for plays where the noise is less distracting. It is difficult to find the way in and I ended up walking through a housing estate which Google suggested was an entrance (it wasn't). But it seems you really need to be there back on 18:00 (two hours before the show starts) to get a decent seat and that is a lot of hanging around if you're a solo theatre goer.

Next challenge, allow them to open and actually make some money... ie, remove the need for social distancing (but have precautions such as masks etc as in shops)

Which West End theatres would be able to open at anything like 50-70% capacity with social distancing measures in place?

You do make a very good point, that the physical nature of the buildings make it harder than the new open theatres of Europe. 

However, I think it just takes creative thinking and some new ways of doing things. Narrow corridors, so you need to prevent congregating and create continuous flow - that is key.

I said it somewhere upthread but IMHO like this: Auditorium opens at same time as building. An hour before show to spread things out. One way systems, people come in and straight into auditorium. Bars closed, merch stands closed. Take seat. Ushers in auditorium can bring water and maybe a reduced bar range and merchandise to you. Maybe order on phone via a QR code at seat?

Anyway, just chucking ideas out. Where there is a will, there's a way. Just need a daring producer to take the plunge. Someone has to be first. 

I just think the time has passed for the 'oh we couldn't possibly dream of doing anything until all restrictions are 100% gone' mentality. It's unrealistic. The world has changed. It isn't going back to the way we knew things. The virus is here. The vaccine isn't. We have to find a way to live together. 

When the pilot resumes tomorrow afternoon at the World Snooker Championship, there will be about 300 in the audience, which even I can work out is 30% of the Crucible's usual capacity.

@sharpe12, I think you must have the ear of someone in authority, as almost all of your suggestions have actually been adopted. 🙂 The main exception being food and drink. If you want either, you have to bring it with you, which is a 180° turn from the policy many theatres have adopted in recent years.

With regards to the West End, although obviously not a musical, surely The Woman in Black must be a candidate for early reopening?