1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 6, 2020 8:45:36 GMT
A James Graham live Zoom interview from a couple of weeks ago.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 6, 2020 8:28:04 GMT
There have been countless hundreds of Zoom plays, from all levels of the industry. Within days of theatre being closed Headlong commissioned a selection of the finest established and emerging writers to write Zoom plays which were broadcast on the BBC. Did you miss the NationalETheatr festival, the “Play in a Day” thing, the Donmar Warehouse’s streamed Zoom play, Graeae’s series of commissioned Zoom monologues, the extraordinary performed-live Caryl Churchill Zoom production, the 14:48 Festival, the Elton John/James Graham musical doing a Zoom reading, etc. etc. etc.
Absolutely no one in theatre has sat back and waited for a government handout. If the public had knew even 10% of what “leadership” have been doing behind the scenes (which is the reason this bailout happened) they would not make ignorant comments.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 5, 2020 18:02:17 GMT
One thing that I’ve noticed a lot (and it’s not specific to any one person or even to this board) is a tendency to refer to the theatre industry/theatre community as though it’s a hive-mind single entity. “Why doesn’t the theatre community do this?” “Why has the theatre industry done that?”
It belies a short sighted and misguided mindset about theatre.
“The theatre industry” comprises hundreds of thousands of disparate individuals, mostly freelance, all with their own unique circumstances and opinions. Most of us don’t even have a decent or in some cases any Union. There is no unity and no one is really leading on any large scale - because no one possibly can.
In terms of this crisis, a few influential individuals have chosen to seek out positions as essentially “unofficial informal government advisors.” The individuals who are having meetings with the Treasury and the DCSM, or appearing on TV, were not told to do that, they weren’t elected, there was no mass agreement from “The Industry” that they should do those things. They made the decision alone to seek those things out because they believed they could help by doing so. Sometimes they make mistakes, but it is their mistake as an individual, not “The Industry” screwing up. We’re all people and none of us are experts in government policy or any of the stuff that we’re now having to do.
Many other individuals who aren’t powerful or influential have done the same in their own lower profile way. No one told them to. “The Industry” had nothing to do with it. Just private individuals making their own personal decisions: to speak up, to be an advocate, to launch a petition or a hashtag.
Go back to the viral photo “wheeze.” One single individual, who is not particularly influential, came up with that idea. Not “The Industry.” ONE person. Why didn’t they come up with it weeks ago? Dunno. Maybe they were ill, or caring for an ill person, or working too hard in their new supermarket job, or too frozen with anxiety. Maybe it just didn’t occur to them. That person’s tweet went viral organically because other ordinary overlooked freelancers saw it and liked the idea. Maybe it made them feel less invisible and less powerless.
Elsewhere, attempts have been made to create some unity via forming various taskforces. The NT has their own taskforce, and the Freelancers Taskforce is the biggest and best known. But this has also led to problems with many complaining about being excluded, because obviously you can’t have a taskforce with X thousand people on it. Ironically the people who did get hired/elected for these taskforces are complaining that the taskforces are too large to be effective! And now there are multiple competing taskforces.
People act like there’s some kind of “Board of All Theatre” overseeing anything and that every time a theatre person tweets or appears on TV, some kind of organisation of higher ups has approved/planned it. No, it’s just private individuals doing what they think is best under extremely challenging circumstances. What more do you want from us?
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 5, 2020 14:21:39 GMT
Why not encourage audience members to share snaps of themselves at theatres and also speak out about what theatre means to them? Keep up the pressure that way? Why not plan a week of posts about different aspects of the industry and nail them on specific days? There just seem to be so many useful ways to show how the arts enrich our lives, but the people you’d expect to be best placed to show it aren’t harnessing them. Literally every single one of these things has already happened. You just aren’t paying attention to them. Why are you so bothered that ordinary regular people who happen to work in theatre, who are not in positions of power or influence, are using Twitter in a way that is different from how you personally would use it? There are serious issues with the biased media silencing and misrepresenting things, and with things like systemic racism unfairly privileging certain voices over others. Focus your ire on them, not some random working class lighting technician who’s out of a job deciding to tweet a photo because maybe it’ll make them feel a bit better to connect with others and make themselves visible.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 5, 2020 13:31:36 GMT
Did it? Sonia Friedman has been banging the drum for weeks. Sam Mendes published that article setting out strategies to support performance spaces a month ago. Artistic directors and other prominent figures have been talking about strategies to find ways forward ever since theatres were closed. The government has not been listening. I’ve seen a few high-profile people write stuff and say stuff, but I’m talking about a proper, cohesive, coherent campaign. So that when those upper-echelon people are in the news, I’m hearing something beyond retweets and ‘sod the Tories’ from people further down the pecking order (who, let’s face it, are doing most of the work). The latest wheeze, ‘post a picture of yourself in an arts job, with no description’ is a case in point. Yes, post a description! Please!! Talk about the power of your work and how it can affect audiences. Talk about how you aim to inspire the next generation. Talk about the opportunities you hope the future holds for diverse voices, performers and stories. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of meaningless photos. People are doing all of those things. Just because you don’t know about them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. A better question is to ask why you haven’t seen media coverage of them, or why the coverage is slanted to portray the arts community as whinging about the Tories. Take your example of the latest viral hashtag (not sure why you describe people who have lost their jobs/careers and are scared for the future of their industry using Twitter to gain attention as a “wheeze”). Plenty of people have done exactly what you are asking for, but those kinds of posts/tweets/articles do not go viral in the way a photo challenge does. The intention of that particular photo challenge was to show how many thousands of ordinary people work in theatre, to try to combat the false belief that theatre is only for and by a tiny handful of the elite.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 5, 2020 11:42:47 GMT
According to an interview, there was a Zoom reading of this a couple of weeks ago.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 5, 2020 11:32:39 GMT
Industry leaders and tens of thousands of ordinary people working in theatre have been speaking out, and putting forward very coherent, coordinated "challenges" (consistent talking points, detailed financial explanations, coordinated press and PR campaigns) since day one.
Few people outside of the industry are listening. The arts are not considered high priority, and there are also serious issues with who gets to have their voice heard. With a few exceptions like those named above, most people in theatre who are active in these campaigns do not have the 'pull' to draw mainstream media attention. Two of my close friends and colleagues are both industry leaders. Both have worked non-stop for months on the campaign to save theatre, have undergone training in policy-making and economics to be better educated when in discussion with the cabinet and the Treasury, are regularly attending meetings with the DCMS, and trying to coordinate things with the various major taskforces. One is a white man and the other is a black woman. Guess which one has been invited to go on all the major political and news TV shows and to write thinkpieces for broadsheets, and which one got a single article in an arts publication which they had to share with five other BIPOC artists? And that's the top end. People no one on this board have ever heard of have emerged as leaders of the arts community, but there's only so much you can do if no one is listening.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 5, 2020 9:43:21 GMT
Oh come on, there’s clearly no logical, non-corrupt justification for the re-opening pubs (completely inessential and listed as the single highest risk activity and one which will certainly kill hundreds of people), give one single man who runs a pub chain an interest-free £48 million loan, while not lifting a single finger for the arts which involves far less risky activities and which almost everyone engages in or benefits from whether directly or indirectly.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 3, 2020 22:24:56 GMT
Whoever said the government doesn’t have any spare dosh because it’s all earmarked: they managed to come up with the money for the furlough scheme, and to bail out other industries pretty quickly, and how much did re-painting Boris’ plane cost? So apart from getting lashed at the pub first thing on Saturday morning what are people planning this weekend? A hairdo? A restaurant? Seeing someone you haven’t seen? I noticed some bloke on one of the gay apps with the profile name “My bubble is open” so I suspect I know what he’s planning! 😝 Might push the boat out and order a pizza this weekend.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 29, 2020 12:50:53 GMT
I'm completely trans supportive but it does seem like the more militarised element of the TRA is predicated on phallocentrism and gynaphobia. The unequal treatment of transwomen and transmen shows that. Cis-lesbians are told they must accept "ladydick" and are subject to screaming rape threats simply for wanting the right to sexual consent. But according to the TRA it's homophobic and triggering to even suggest that a cis-gay man might consider sex with a transman. A gay male organisation in Canada released a statement saying "Dysphoric females aren't men and can never be men and are naturally excluded and we don't care what trans rights activists say" and it caused barely a peep in the trans rights community. Yet cis-women asserting their right to sexual agency causes mass outrage. Why the double standard? And it's only ever cis-women the TRA target, when cis-men commit the vast majority of transphobic abuse and violence.
I have lots of trans friends and they all want to be allowed to live their lives in freedom and peace. Most of them care passionately about issues like sexual consent and women's rights. Yet there's a huge disconnect between ordinary transwomen who are far more likely to be a victim of abuse and sexual assault, and TRA. A disproportionate number of high profile TRAs used to be members of the MRA/incel community or have a history of sexually predatory behaviour. They appear more concerned with claiming ciswomen shouldn't be allowed sexual agency, or closing down rape crisis centres, or supporting the rights of convicted rapists to be held in women's prisons, than advocating for trans rights. The "MAP" community (Minor Attracted Persons i.e. child rapists) is also trying to align themselves with and exploit the trans rights movement. I consider all of that deeply transphobic, because it exploits trans rights and pushes the dangerous lie that transwomen are sexual predators or paedophiles. Yet it's ciswomen who raise legitimate concerns about safeguarding who are attacked and smeared as transphobes.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 22, 2020 12:01:34 GMT
There are certainly many people who are ignorant and selfish in refusing to wear masks. But I think it’s important to flag that a minority of people medically cannot/are not allowed to wear masks and are legally exempt.
A very small minority. The vast majority of people out without masks on are simply selfish or stupid or both, and I don't feel inclined to make excuses for them.
Yes but it’s important not to ignore or marginalise the existence of people who are for the most part already very vulnerable. My friends who are not allowed to wear masks are genuinely frightened of being verbally or physically abused by people who don’t realise there are legal exemptions, and I’ve seen numerous comments online in spaces much less nice than this one openly advocating that.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 22, 2020 10:14:50 GMT
various friends working in NHS have said they don't need to be worn all the time - if out for a walk and not near others then we should be getting fresh air as well. In a park or countryside well away from other people is one thing. As I said, I live in a town centre above a pedestrianised shopping street. Anybody out walking where I live without a mask has no respect for other people. It's THAT simple. There are certainly many people who are ignorant and selfish in refusing to wear masks. But I think it’s important to flag that a minority of people medically cannot/are not allowed to wear masks and are legally exempt.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 12, 2020 22:03:35 GMT
Thanks for the kind and thoughtful comments. Travelling for work that cannot be done from home has been allowed from the start of lockdown, so ROH are probably using that as a loophole. I'd guess most theatres don't want to risk endangering actors and crew while it's still illegal to open for audiences. Theatre leaders are painfully aware that there's PR mountain to climb to convince the general public that theatre is a worthy investment, and not some boring elitist thing their posh aunt Ethel once dragged them to. Hence the decision to portray theatre as being in dire peril, and the hammering of the "£5 for every £1 investment not bailout" point. Plus everyone's terrified their production will be the one to infect people. All it takes is one infected person lowering their mask to sneeze because sneeze droplets can travel much further than 2m. It's not just the human cost, but we have to be pragmatic and think about PR too. We've all seen the headlines about Devon beaches, we don't want headlines about how selfish theatre bosses are endangering the public by selfishly re-opening too soon, and god can you imagine if we re-opened and someone did get infected? There are other issues at play here too. If the Treasury rejects the financial proposal or doesn't extend furlough then theatre as an industry might recover, but an awful lot of smaller and more niche companies will die, there'll be less willingness to take risks or take a chance on unknown writers and directors, and an awful lot of talented artists from less financially privileged backgrounds will be forced out. It might be fine in the immediate future, but what about in ten years when an entire generation of emerging talent has been throttled? I don't want a theatre landscape where your only choices are Macbeth, the Mousetrap, or Mamma Mia and you have to travel to London because the regional theatres had to close. When you see industry leaders on TV making dire warnings that theatre will die without help, they don't literally think the UK will never stage another theatre production. But that the theatre industry as we know it will die, and be replaced with one that's aggressively commercial and homogeneous. samuelwhiskers admirable job and a little of what I was hoping for in response. But do riddle me this; the Jermyn St Beckett triple bill with three players and five staff, inc. lighting personage and box office. Why can't that type of production go ahead now with social distancing? Thank you. The Old Vic's socially distanced Lungs is probably a step towards this. Other theatres are watching with interest to see if the OV manage to pull off rehearsing and staging a performance using social distancing. If they do, I predict more socially distanced performances. But that needs to be tested first. Getting audiences in will be the last step.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 12, 2020 16:54:55 GMT
I realise this post will go down poorly, but I am taken aback by the posts here. What on earth have we done, as an industry, to create such distrust? So many statements based on negative and unfounded assumptions.
Please remember that "theatre" is not a monolith. Theatre is made up of many dozens of buildings, all run by human beings, who all have different opinions and approaches and different attitudes towards risk. Some artistic directors (for example who have lost parents to COVID, and who run theatres with an older audience demographic) are extremely cautious and are determined to put lives above profit. On the flipside I know one artistic director who has declared intention to open their building the second they are legally allowed to, and one AD who nearly re-opened illegally and had to be talked out of it. There is no consensus and there won't be any consensus. If I repeated some of the things I've heard in AD Zooms this week it would shock you and would silence all the "why are you sitting back waiting to be told what to do" critics instantly.
It honestly breaks my heart seeing posters talking about "lack of ambition" or "innovation has dried up" or "need to stop mourning and start doing". Do posters genuinely believe that artistic directors and other industry leaders and taskforce members are lazy and that we're all sitting on our arses with our hands stuck out passively waiting for the government to tell us what to do? Why the three taskforces then? I look at my colleagues and friends, and I can honestly say industry leader I know is working themselves to death using "innovation" and "ambition" and "creativity" to come up with the proposals and action plans you're castigating us for not doing. Do you really think there's a single suggestion that's been made here that theatres haven't been discussing for weeks?
Every single theatre that I know of has at least three detailed proposals (with financial breakdowns, risk assessments, etc. etc.) for re-opening, and probably half a dozen more creative or outlandish ideas for re-opening. Two of my closest friends have more or less halted all their own work and are now working more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, writing the financial proposal and having meetings with the Treasury. I bet in a year when fans find out their favourite TV shows have been delayed those same friends will be called lazy. Not lazy, spending every waking minute trying to save the industry that birthed their careers. Important too to note that the financial proposal the group of individuals (representing one of the three taskforces set up in May to represent the theatre industry to the government) are preparing to submit to the Treasury is an investment, and not a bailout.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 11, 2020 16:09:12 GMT
I see no reason why theatres cannot tell us here and now whether, when they they are allowed to open (in a covid safe way), they will be doing so and their shows will be going ahead, or not. They must know. I promise you, they don’t. I’m in a lot of Zooms with artistic directors, and there is still so much confusion, multiple contingency plans, and maybes/buts/ifs being discussed. I know what direction several theatres are leaning towards, but there’s just too much uncertainty to start making firm promises or public statements. And your very question assumes a hypothetical which probably will never exist. You can safely assume all theatres want to and are trying to re-open and get back to normal as soon as it’s safe, but what does “COVID safe” mean? It very possibly won’t be “safe” until a vaccine has been produced and widely disseminated, which could take a year or more. But theatres won’t survive that. The government has been worse than useless. Even if the government announces that theatres are allowed to re-open it likely won’t be safe to do so. And re-opening is a delicate balance of time/finances/potential seats. If theatres are allowed to re-open in September they might have enough money left in the coffers to start rehearsals for previously scheduled shows straight away. If they aren’t able to re-open till Jan they probably won’t. Best case scenario they might have to find and programme a much cheaper show. They might have to do paid digital shows for a bit, or certain theatres are discussing re-opening purely as a food and drink venue to get the income ball rolling and to fill in the gap until it’s safe to start performances again. No one can predict government advice or how it will affect re-opening. For example if the government reduces the 2m rule to 1m, that hugely affects seating plans and by extension potential number of tickets available. A lot of financial plans are being re-written right now to accommodate for a reduction from 2m to 1m. Though to be honest most theatres would not be able to operate with seats 1m apart because they’d lose so much money. Some theatres are exploring alternate options like potentially staging outdoor work during July-Sept then going dark again over winter. All sorts of “what if we...” being thrown about. So many options and so much confusion. I wish it was a case of “the minute Boris says the word, we’ll get the actors back into the rehearsal room” but it isn’t and it can’t be. Sorry to be bleak.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 9, 2020 14:06:09 GMT
My local cinema does (or used to do) regular showings that started at midnight.
Going to the cinema at midnight on a Tuesday is an excellent example of social distancing, though possibly not a great example of a healthy or profitable life.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 7, 2020 0:25:31 GMT
No, the full list is:
London Assurance The Deep Blue Sea Rory Kinnear Hamlet She Stoops to Conquer Antigone The Cherry Orchard Dara Translations Small Island Othello Medea Yerma Julius Caesar Les Blancs
There are so many I assume it is promo for the schools resource. But possibly some will be future screenings?
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 6, 2020 19:38:21 GMT
A few days ago the NT posted a bunch of trailers for different shows. Possible clues to future NT At Homes, or just promo for the NT Collection for schools thing?
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 6, 2020 10:23:06 GMT
Oh God.
Thankfully leather is wipe-clean.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 2, 2020 15:05:47 GMT
The current contingency plans from the theatres I work with are best case scenario start to re-open in Sept, worst case scenario re-open in January.
Most of the industry is currently working on the assumption that we can start working towards re-opening by the end of the year, and will be able to re-open fully early next year.
It’s too early to tell how realistic these plans will prove to be.
A lot of discussion happening in near-constant Zooms about how theatre might operate in a post-COVID world.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on Jun 2, 2020 15:04:07 GMT
Hugely looking forward to A Monster Calls, which I missed at the OV.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on May 31, 2020 15:58:41 GMT
Someone who started with black hair then later went blonde. Famous for screen, has also performed in a “prestigious off-West End venue” (Donmar? Court?)
|
|
1,108 posts
|
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
|
|
1,108 posts
|
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.
|
|
1,108 posts
|
Post by samuelwhiskers on May 15, 2020 0:13:36 GMT
Nick Hern Books are doing a weekly play read-along where they release a play script for free on Issuu.
|
|