Theatre 'faces existential threat' despite July 19 relaxation

The theatre industry’s recovery faces a growing threat from "debilitating" self-isolation rules and lack of cancellation insurance, leading voices have argued as the government confirmed the end of all legal Covid restrictions on July 19.

Venues and producers have said they will take a cautious approach once constraints are eased, pleading for greater clarity and protection from government amid what they warn is a "precarious" and "unsustainable" situation.

Producer Sonia Friedman has warned that the commercial sector in particular is on its “last legs” and is just weeks from collapse. She has called on the government to introduce a bespoke scheme urgently to help producers and theatres bypass current isolation rules. Without it and the government underwriting insurance, she warned, the West End faces an existential threat – “If it doesn’t, there won’t be a sector," she said.

For the first time in 16 months, theatres in England will be able to operate at full capacity from July 19, with all other legal limits on social contacts removed, following more than a year of closure and reduced audiences.

Health secretary Sajid Javid described moving to Step 4 of the roadmap this month – four weeks later than planned – as "the right time to get our nation closer to normal life", despite fast-rising Covid infections across the country.

From next week, there will no longer be a legal requirement for theatregoers to wear masks. However, Javid said the practice would be "expected and recommended" in crowded settings, and the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre have expressed a "strong recommendation" that venues keep this measure in place.

Announcing the changes, both Javid and prime minister Boris Johnson revisited the prospect of Covid certification, announcing that businesses would be encouraged to use Covid passes for large events and in other crowded "high-risk" environments, though theatres were not explicitly referenced. The government said it would "consider mandating certification" if necessary.

Producer and SOLT president Eleanor Lloyd warned that despite the relaxation of restrictions, the circumstances under which theatre was being forced to operate "is not a sustainable situation".

"Producers want to get our industry back on its feet, creating employment and entertaining audiences across the country – but we are doing so under debilitating self-isolation rules and still without the protection of cancellation insurance," she said, reiterating calls for a government-backed insurance scheme and for an alternative to the self-isolation system for contacts of positive cases.

The rules have this week forced yet more shows to cancel performances, with West End musical The Prince of Egypt, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet and London Bridge Theatre’s Bach and Sons forced to suspend performances, and Hairspray at the London Coliseum extending its enforced closure.

Beth George, producer at Cirencester’s Barn Theatre, which was among the first to cancel performances due to isolation requirements, said the government must now clarify how this could be avoided in future.

Fellow producer Patrick Gracey said the number of performances being cancelled across the country demonstrated that "help is urgently needed to ensure productions can survive to drive the nation’s recovery from this crisis".

"With the lifting of restrictions being identified by Caroline Dinenage, the minister for culture, as the ’key barrier’ to unlocking government-backed insurance, I trust that the government will live up to its promises and deliver the necessary support," he added.

Stephen Freeman, executive director of Manchester Royal Exchange, said theatres would be in a "precarious position" after July 19, faced with unknown levels of audience confidence.

"This will pose a real financial threat to organisations that are, out of necessity, now operating on vastly reduced budgets," he said, warning that many organisations would struggle if their income was reduced and insurance not secured.

"Theatres may need help if they are to build back and weather the tail of the pandemic," Freeman said.

He added that safety measures would likely remain "for some time" at the Royal Exchange, a view shared by Chichester Festival Theatre bosses Kathy Bourne and Daniel Evans, who confirmed that CFT would host socially distanced performances on a weekly basis during July and August, and that it would book its production of South Pacific to audiences of 900, rather than full capacity of 1,200.

They did, however, "wholeheartedly welcome" the news that full audiences would now be allowed, adding that safety would remain "the utmost priority".

Leeds Playhouse executive director Robin Hawkes warned that the government’s messaging around measures such as face masks could "lead to a really confusing picture" and urged greater clarity.

He said the announcement was a relief after such a long period of reduced operations, but warned that "significant hurdles" remained, not least over the issue of insurance.

"For many producers it will be impossible to take risks with the prospect of either the changing course of the virus or the changing course of the restrictions, which means suddenly the plug might get pulled," he said.

While limits in England are being relaxed, theatres in Scotland and Wales remain under tighter restrictions, with Northern Irish venues still closed entirely.

UK Theatre president Fiona Allan said "this frustrating lack of consistency makes planning UK-wide tours extremely difficult".