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FIRST LOOK AT ALFRED ENOCH AND ALL STAR CAST IN DIGITAL PRODUCTION OF WHAT A CARVE UP!

• THE BARN THEATRE, LAWRENCE BATLEY THEATRE & NEW WOLSEY THEATRE CO-PRODUCE THE WORLD PREMIERE OF WHAT A CARVE UP! BY HENRY FILLOUX-BENNETT

• THE PRODUCTION, BASED ON JONATHAN COE’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NOVEL, WILL BE DIRECTED BY THEATRE CLWYD ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TAMARA HARVEY.

• THE CAST ALSO INCLUDES ALFRED ENOCH, SHARON D. CLARKE, STEPHEN FRY, CELIA IMRIE AND SIR DEREK JACOBI

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester, the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield and the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich have today released the official trailer for the digital world premiere of Henry Filloux-Bennett’s online play What A Carve Up!, based on Jonathan Coe’s critically acclaimed satirical novel.

The digital production, directed by Tamara Harvey (Home, I’m Darling), chronicles the events leading up to the ‘Winshaw Murders’. Filled with murder, mayhem and madness, the murder mystery turns a satirical eye on what it is like to be a member of one of the most corrupt, powerful and toxic families in the country.

The production features an all-star cast including Jonathan Bailey as Henry Winshaw, Samuel Barnett as Michael Owen, Robert Bathurst as Thomas Winshaw, Fiona Button as Josephine Winshaw-Eaves, Sharon D. Clarke as Kim Bolton, Alfred Enoch as Raymond Owen, Rebecca Front as Hilary Winshaw, Stephen Fry as Patrick Mills, Celia Imrie as Joan Simpson, Sir Derek Jacobi as Findlay Onyx, Griff Rhys Jones as John Stephens, Dervla Kirwan as the Brunwin Advert and Tamzin Outhwaite as Interviewer 2020.

The full cast also includes: Catrin Aaron, Jamie Ballard, Jack Dixon, Julian Harries, James McNicholas and Lizzie Muncey.

The murder mystery is written by Henry Filloux-Bennett (Nigel Slater’s Toast), based on the award-winning novel by Jonathan Coe, directed by Tamara Harvey (Home, I’m Darling) with Harry Smith (Henry V, Private Peaceful) as sound designer and composer, Annie May Fletcher as production coordinator, set design by Holly Piggott, production by Christopher McGill, production management by Will Dolan and editing and graphics by Mark Kendrick.

Jonathan Coe said of the new adaptation, “I’m thrilled that What a Carve Up! is being brought to the stage by such a talented and experienced team. It’s twenty-five years since I wrote the book but unfortunately its political satire seems as relevant as ever – I’m sure the new adaptation will capture that, as well as the novel’s sense of fun and irreverence. I’m looking forward to getting to know it again!”

What A Carve Up! is a co-production by the Barn Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre and New Wolsey Theatre with Dusthouse as associate producers.

The play, which will be available internationally, will run from 31 October – 29 November 2020. Tickets can be purchased at whatacarveup.com with audience members receiving a screening link which will activate at their booked performance time for a 48-hour period. A premium option, consisting of a physical programme and pre-theatre dining recipe card, will be available for UK residents.

The recipe card included in the premium option will be curated by world-renowned chef Asma Khan. Owner of the prestigious Darjeeling Express in London’s Soho, Asma Khan was the first British chef to be profiled on Netflix’s award-winning documentary series Chef’s Table and in 2019 was named number one on Business Insider’s “100 Coolest People in Food and Drink” list.

A portion of the proceeds raised by What A Carve Up! will be donated to a freelance fund to support the creative workforce that the theatres would not be able to survive without.

The production is kindly supported by Blackmagic Design.

Further casting and creative announcements will be released at a later date.

Next generation of West End musicals face audiences for the first time in festival at The Lowry

A festival designed to give new musicals their big break is coming to The Lowry next month.

Musical Rewrites will run from Tue 10 November to Sat 14 November in the Salford venue’s Lyric Theatre.

It is the fourth outing of the event, which showcases new musicals touring for the first time, works-in-progress and ‘curtain raisers’.

Work under the spotlight includes: Sunshine, which has been developed by SIX producer, Andy Barnes; A Mother’s Song, by Cameron Mackintosh resident composer, Finn Anderson; and Unfortunate, which was a hit of the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 and gives the back story to one of Disney’s favourite villains.

Each musical will be performed live at The Lowry for a small, socially distanced audience and live-streamed the following week on ‘Broadway on Demand UK’s; stream.theatre platform.

On stream.theatre it will run alongside a showcase of new musicals at New York’s famous National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals.

Tickets are available at www.thelowry.com and are priced at £10 for both in-venue or online experiences.

Matt Eames, senior programmer/producer at The Lowry said: “’Even in the midst of lockdown, I was convinced that we could and should find a way for our annual mini-musicals season to proceed.

“It seemed to me that this was a unique opportunity to work with some really exciting people and to open up Rewrites to a new audience by streaming it online.

“I am thrilled with the line-up and delighted that we are able to showcase the brilliant new musical theatre being made right now across the UK. A huge thank you to stream.theatre and all the companies involved for getting on-board this adventure and finding a way to make it happen in such challenging circumstances.”

Previous Musical Rewrites include: The Letter Room’s No Miracles Here, Silent Uproar’s A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Sad) and Leo & Hyde’s The Marriage of Kim Kardashian. Spitlip’s hit London musical, Operation Mincemeat, also started out as part of a Rewrites festival.   

Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall receive lifeline grant from Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund

Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall have been awarded £1.6 million as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future, the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced today.

Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall are one of 35 major cultural organisations receiving the first grants between £1 and £3 million through the Culture Recovery Fund – with £75 million of investment announced today.

This follows £334 million awarded earlier in the month to nearly 2,000 organisations, also from the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.

The funding will help to support the venues until the end of the current financial year enabling them to make necessary adjustments to the buildings, operating procedures and event programmes to meet Covid-19 government guidelines and to allow customers to safely return to enjoy the varied programme of high quality live entertainment that the venues are renowned for.

Leader of Hull City Council, Councillor Stephen Brady OBE said:

“This is welcome news for the city, Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall play a major role in offering the local community access to world class performances on their doorstep. Although there are still challenges to face with the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a step forward in ensuring future generations can continue to enjoy live entertainment in Hull.”

Chair, Hull Culture and Leisure, Councillor Marjorie Brabazon said:

“I’m delighted that this funding will allow us to move forward with plans to be in a position to safely open our doors once again to give audiences the opportunity to enjoy much missed live entertainment, in what we hope is the very near future. ”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“As part of our unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue fund, today we’re saving British cultural icons with large grants of up to £3 million – from Shakespeare’s Globe to the Sheffield Crucible. These places and organisations are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are. This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away.”

Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:

“The Culture Recovery Fund has already helped hundreds of organisations, of all types and sizes, in villages, towns and cities across the country. It has provided a lifeline that will allow these organisations to continue to play an integral role in their communities and produce new artistic work that will entertain and inspire us all.

“This latest funding, which are the largest grants to date, will support some of the country’s most loved and admired cultural spaces – from great regional theatres and museums to historic venues in the capital – which are critical to the development of a new generation of talent and in providing work for freelance creatives.”

Following the announcement of the latest round of grants from the government’s £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund, I’m pleased to share a statement from the Theatres Trust.

Jon Morgan, director of Theatres Trust, comments:

Theatres Trust welcomes the news that 16 of England’s nationally and regionally significant theatres will receive grants of over £1m in the latest round of the Culture Recovery Fund. This shows that the importance of these organisations socially, culturally and economically has been recognised. We are particularly pleased to see that theatres represent almost half of the latest grants awarded including regional theatrical powerhouses such Manchester Royal Exchange, Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, as well as major touring houses such as the Mayflower Southampton and Newcastle Theatre Royal. 

Support for these theatres, along with over 300 other producing and touring theatres, large and small, across the country that have been supported in earlier rounds, means that over 1/3 of England’s theatres have benefitted from this vital lifeline. 

We are still months away from the majority of theatres being able to reopen viably and many theatres are suffering the additional pressures of being in higher level lockdown areas.  Alongside this much-needed support we urgently need to agree a set of mitigation measures that will allow theatres to welcome fuller audiences under current social distancing rules which will make it possible for more theatres to reopen and serve their communities again.

LEEDS HERITAGE THEATRES WELCOMES GOVERNMENT FUNDING

Leeds Heritage Theatres is thrilled to announce that their application to receive a grant of £1,545,163 from the Government and Arts Council England’s Culture Recovery Fund has been successful.

The grant is part of a £1.57 billion rescue package announced by the government in July 2020, specifically created to help UK arts, culture and heritage industries deal with the impact of COVID-19. The fund offers financial support to cultural organisations that were financially stable before the pandemic but are at imminent risk of failure.

Chris Blythe, CEO, says: “I cannot begin to tell you how incredible, and what a huge relief, it is to finally receive this news. The past seven months have been some of the most stressful of my, and the team’s, time at Leeds Heritage Theatres.

“We submitted a strong bid based on the cultural significance of the company, and we’re grateful this has been recognised and to have money invested in our future – not only for our people, but for our audiences who have been overwhelmingly generous and supportive throughout this difficult period.”

Leeds Heritage Theatres, which manages three historic venues in the city, generates 98% of its income through ticket sales, and bar and merchandise sales. The closure on March 17 has seen the Company exhaust its reserves, built up through prudent financial planning over the previous five years.

Blythe adds: “Whilst we have done all that we can to survive this ongoing period of closure, as well as prepare for the economic uncertainty that will follow – including exhausting our reserves and taking advantage of the job retention scheme, furloughing 96% of our staff – it is no understatement to say that this grant is a lifeline.

“And whilst it won’t see us completely out of the woods – like many businesses, our financial pressures remain whilst we are unable to fully open – it will help us enormously to safeguard our heritage buildings, and to continue planning for an unknown future, one where we can hopefully welcome back the best of the West End and Broadway to The Grand, world-class stand-up, music and variety to The Varieties, and the very best independent, art house and classic films to The Picture House. It will also provide job security for our dedicated team of staff, volunteers and freelancers, and help us to continue nurturing talent through our Learning programme.”

The decision-making panel included Arts Council England and other specialist bodies such as Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.

Blythe finishes: “It has been widely publicised that our sector has suffered exponentially as a result of the pandemic. I am immensely grateful that the UK government and associated bodies are investing in our creative industries to protect and preserve them for future generations; not only from a cultural and economic perspective (the sector employs over 700,000 skilled people), but because arts and culture are needed now more than ever to help boost people’s mental health and build community through shared experience as we all try to find some escapism from our day-to-day and ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19.”

Whilst Leeds Grand Theatre remains closed until January 2021, when it will welcome back resident companies, Opera North and Northern Ballet, City Varieties Music hall recently reopened its doors with an exciting programme of film presented in collaboration with sister venue Hyde Park Picture House. The Picture House itself remains closed for restoration work.

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

Hoard: Rediscovered

Featuring Unearthed, written and directed by Theresa Heskins and eleven mini-plays, directed by Gemma Fairlie

Saturday 7 to Saturday 14 November, New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-Under-Lyme

REIMAGINED HOARD FESTIVAL AT STAFFORDSHIRE’S NEW VIC DIGITALLY UNEARTHS MYSTERIES OF 1400 YEAR OLD TREASURE   

Audiences will be given the opportunity to return to the newly refurbished New Vic Theatre and revisit pieces from its critically acclaimed 2015 Staffordshire Hoard Festival in Hoard: Rediscovered, screened at the theatre as part of its Housewarming Season this November.

Hoard: Rediscovered sees the original cast and creative team reunited for filmed versions of New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins’ documentary-drama Unearthed, and a selection of mini plays from some of the country’s most talented writers including Isy Suttie, Sara Pascoe and Lemn Sissay, all directed by Gemma Fairlie.

Originally developed in conjunction with the National Theatre Studio, the cast of Hoard: Rediscovered includes Romayne Andrews, Suzanne Ahmet, Crystal Condie, Jemma Churchill, David Crellin, Elizabeth Elvin, Paula James, David Kirkbride, Gwawr Loader, Perry Moore, Adam Morris, David Nellist, Bryonie Pritchard, David Semark, and Johnson Willis.

New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins said: “Our Hoard of plays was created after the National Theatre Studio invited the New Vic to be their associate company for a year, encouraging us to ‘dream big’. The result, a season of plays inspired by an Anglo-Saxon treasure found in a Staffordshire hoard, is an exploration of a local discovery that had a national impact. Archaeologists and historians are not sure they will ever know what the hoard is, who it belonged to, or why it was buried in an isolated field, but our plays explore the many possibilities we heard about. For me, the challenge of this reimagining is adapting the verbatim documentary I wrote for the stage, to the screen. I am really excited that audiences at the theatre will be watching the documentary on not one but two screens – one horizontal and one vertical – in a dynamic format which I am excited to be exploring with brilliant collaborators.

“It’s been such a privilege to welcome back the entire original cast and creative team to recreate these pieces in a new way, and we are finding such joy in welcoming back audiences to the New Vic after a long break. We didn’t waste the time – we conducted a massive refurbishment, made some big plans, and delivered important work across our communities.  But my goodness, it is such a pleasure to see people back enjoying theatre performances too.”

Director of the mini plays, Gemma Fairlie added: “It’s been such a huge privilege to revisit the Hoard project with Hoard: Rediscovered. Not only do I get to work with an incredible team again but in the current situation, seeing so many brilliant people back doing what they are great at – theatre – is immensely heartening.

“Bringing these stories back to life in a digitally reimagined way has added a new layer of storytelling. The way we have filmed and edited the plays has enabled us to add atmosphere, connection, and surprise. Eleven unique pieces of drama have emerged that are both theatrical and filmic. The writing and the performances have really grown into this new medium and I cannot wait for audiences to experience the incredible range of stories inspired by the Hoard, and now invigorated by the circumstances.”

Hoard: Rediscovered will be screened at Staffordshire’s New Vic Theatre from Saturday 7 to Saturday 14 November. Telling the story of the discovery of a hoard of 1400 year old Anglo-Saxon treasure, socially distanced audiences will find their imaginations gripped as they follow this drama which animates the words of real people who found the gold in a Staffordshire field, and of the experts who tried to unravel its meanings.

Further details for Hoard: Rediscovered are available on the theatre’s website at newvictheatre.org.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01782 717962.

JANIE DEE, MAX BOWDEN & STEPHEN BOXER TO STAR IN

THE HAUNTING OF ALICE BOWLES

A NEW ADAPTATION BY PHILIP FRANKS

OF THE M.R. JAMES SHORT STORY THE EXPERIMENT

A NEW COMMISSION BY ORIGINAL THEATRE COMPANY

ONLINE STREAMING FROM 7.30PM ON 17 DECEMBER 2020

Original Theatre Company, the production company behind the critically acclaimed lockdown productions of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong Online, Louise Coulthard’s Watching Rosie and the new commission by Torben Betts, Apollo 13: The Dark Side of The Moon, is delighted to present its fourth original online production since theatres were closed by the Government in March this year.  The Haunting of Alice Bowles is a new supernatural thriller by Philip Franks adapted for the first time from the M.R. James chilling short ghost story, The Experiment.

The Haunting of Alice Bowles will be available to watch via originaltheatreonline.com from 7.30pm on 17 December 2020 until 28 February 2021. 

In 1918, the recently widowed Alice Bowles is left destitute as she seeks to solve a mystery left by her late husband Francis.  Moving to 2020, YouTube urban explorers Matt and Caitlin uncover a mysterious grave in an abandoned churchyard.  What starts as harmless entertainment soon turns darker when their discovery begins to unwrap a mystery which has lain dormant for over a century.  

Philip Franks said:

“I’ve loved M. R. James ever since I was terrified by ‘Whistle and I’ll Come To You’ on the BBC in 1968.  A series of brilliantly subtle and scary adaptations of his ghost stories were a highlight of Christmas viewing for many years.  Now it’s my turn.  I’ve taken a very short story of his – as far as I know never dramatised before – and given it a modern twist for our troubled times.  I hope audiences find it pleasurably terrifying.” 

The Haunting of Alice Bowles stars Janie Dee (Follies, Comic Potential, Carousel) as Alice, Max Bowden (EastEnders, Waterloo Road, Birdsong) as Matt, Stephen Boxer (The Crown, Humans, Garrow’s Law, countless productions for the RSC and National Theatre) as Dr Hall, Jack Archer (Monogamy, Quaint Honour, Nivelli’s War) as Joseph, Alexandra Guelff (Witness for the Prosecution, The Habit of Art) as Caitlin, Robert Mountford (Holby City, North Square, The Habit of Art) as the Lawyer, Poppy Roe (A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life, Royal Matchmaker) as Mrs Ivey and Tim Treloar (Birdsong, King Lear) as the Boatman.

Alastair Whatley, Artistic Director of Original Theatre Company, said:

“It’s a real pleasure to be announcing our fourth major project for Original Theatre Online.  Philip Franks’s brand new adaptation provides a new twist on a classic ghost story in time for Christmas.  The Haunting of Alice Bowles continues our work innovating a new form of creating and sharing work online, a cine-theatrical event for dark December nights.

“We were all relieved to be awarded funding from the Culture Recovery Fund announced last week.  We are already putting that investment to work – as we continue to make and develop work for stages both digital and live over the coming months.” 

The Haunting of Alice Bowles will be co-directed by Philip Franks and Alastair Whatley, designed by Adrian Linford and edited by Tristan Shepherd, with sound design and original music composed by Max Pappenheim.

The online production of The Haunting of Alice Bowles is produced by Original Theatre Company.

@OriginalTheatre #HauntingAlice

LISTINGS INFORMATION

THE HAUNTING OF ALICE BOWLES

By Philip Franks

Dates: 17 December 2020 – 28 February 2021

Running Time: approximately 45 minutes

Age guidance: 15+

Book: originaltheatreonline.com

Tickets:

·        Super Early Bird (booked by 31 October) – £10

·        Early bird (booked by 30 November) – £12.50

·        Standard – £15

·        Supporter Package (booked by 30 November) – £50 (includes supporter credit on the final film and digital programme)

·        Premium Package (booked by 31 October) – £100 (includes signed script by cast/creative member of your choice, supporter credit on the film, digital programme) 

OLIVIER THEATRE IN-THE-ROUND 

TICKETS FOR NATIONAL THEATRE’S PANTOMINE DICK WHITTINGTON GO ON SALE  

LARRY KRAMER’S THE NORMAL HEART TO OPEN IN FEBRUARY 2021 

For one year only, pantomime comes to the National Theatre. Jude Christian and Cariad Lloyd’s hilarious and heartfelt version of Dick Whittington, first staged at Lyric Hammersmith in 2018 and freshly updated for 2020, will open in the socially distanced Olivier theatre on the 11 December.  

Directed by Ned Bennett, this wild and inventive production explores what it is like to come from a small town and arrive in a big city today, exploring the ideas of community and togetherness. Initial casting includes Dickie Beau, Amy Booth-Steel, Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings​, Georgina Onuorah, and Cleve September.  

Set and costume designs by Georgia Lowe, choreography by Dannielle Rhimes Lecointe, compositions, arrangements and music production by DJ Walde, music supervisionby Marc Tritschler and music direction and additional composition and arrangements by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell. Lighting designed by Jessica Hung Han Yun and Sound Design by Paul Arditti. Denzel Westley-Sanderson is Associate Director, Debbie Duru is Associate Set Designer and Fiona Parker is Associate Costume Designer. 

Tickets go on sale to members from Monday, with public booking on 4 November.Over 200 seats will be available for each performance at £20, with half price tickets for under 18s on all tickets over £20. Tickets will be available to purchase as single tickets, as pairs or in threes and fours for audience to attend with their household or support bubble. There will also be a number of Access performances including an Audio-Described performance, a BSL performance and a Relaxed performance. Dates and information on how to book can be found here. 

The next show to open as part of the Olivier in-the-round season in February 2021 is Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart ,in a co-production with Fictionhouse. Directed by Dominic Cooke, Kramer’s largely autobiographical play about the AIDS crisis in 1980 New York has not been performed professionally in London since its European premiere in 1986. Ben Daniels will perform the role of Ned Weeks, the co-founder of an AIDS advocacy group fighting to change the world around him, with Danny Lee Wynter as Tommy Boatwright, Daniel Monks as Mickey Marcus and Stanley Townsend as Ben Weeks. Vicki Mortimer is Set Designer and Paule Constable is Lighting Designer.  

Tickets for The Normal Heart will go on sale from the end of November. 

Director Dominic Cooke says: “As a student I was lucky enough to see the landmark Royal Court production of The Normal Heart starring Martin Sheen. It had a profound effect on me at the time and I’ve wanted to direct the play ever since. It is the rarest of things; a history play written by one of its key participants. It deals with the nature of political activism, the internal battle many LGBT people fight to feel worthy of love and, topically, the refusal of those in power to face the reality of an unfolding health crisis. Larry Kramer was a firebrand and The Normal Heart is written with all of his characteristic ferocity, political insight and wit. I’ve been talking with Ben Daniels for over five years about playing Ned Weeks. He is one of our greatest actors and I cannot wait to begin working with him, alongside the rest of the company and the brilliant team at the NT who Kate Horton and I, as Fictionhouse, will be co-producing with.” 

Streaming 22 – 24 October

4****

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

Set up by Casey’s brother-in-law, Aaron and Casey seem to have nothing in common – Aaron is uptight, ordered and nerdy while Casey is artistic and free spirited. After 5 minutes you are hoping the show will end with them in each others’ arms, or one of them disposing of the other’s corpse – either looks likely and no other outcomes would be acceptable.

Austin Winsberg’s book feels like an edgier, funnier Hallmark Channel romcom, lifted by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner’s musical numbers that are full of gags about the pitfalls of dating. Filmed at Crazy Coqs, director Dean Johnson seizes the videography opportunities with glee.

Simon Lipkin and Samantha Barks are wonderful as Aaron and Casey – Lipkin is dorky and driven, avoiding the obvious Ross Geller clichés and keeping Aaron sweet and loveable. Barks gives Casey’s hard-edged confidence just the right amount of vulnerability. Watching the two characters gradually shed their defences is a joy in the hands of such talented actors – and their voices!

Rufus Kampa makes a brief but emotional appearance as young Aaron, and Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Nicholas McLean and Danielle Steers play a multitude of characters that help and hinder the couple’s relationship. The trio get to chew the scenery and steal the show as Lipkin and Barks keep calm(ish) while imagined friends and family go nuts singing and shouting at them. McLean’s Bailout Songs as Casey’s OTT BFF Reggie and Conlon-Morrey’s bizarre omnipresent waiter would bring the house down with a live audience. You won’t want to leave your screen during the “interval”. Trust me.

As the couple navigate the stormy waters of religious differences, exes and dead mothers, the laughs come thick and fast. This might not be the deepest, most meaningful of musicals, but sometimes we just need a good laugh. This is the perfect tonic for dark October nights – an oasis of silliness, social awkwardness and sublime singing that will leave you on a high. And you don’t have to leave your home for it. Get a ticket, grab some wine, and enjoy.

Tickets are £12.50, and are available at https://www.fane.co.uk/our-shows/first-date-the-musical/about-the-show

Following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement today that the Job Support Scheme will be extended for restriction-hit areas, Theatres Trust director Jon Morgan responds:

Theatres Trust welcomes the Chancellor’s announcement today of more support for businesses affected by Covid-19 restrictions. Theatres who have managed to reopen under Tiers 2 and 3 are likely to suffer a downturn in attendance, however, as they have not been forced to close under either tier they cannot access the enhanced Job Support Scheme available to pubs and restaurants in Tier 3.  The more generous core Job Support Scheme along with the monthly grants for businesses in high alert-level areas will therefore provide much–needed additional support to struggling theatres. 

However, it remains the case that most theatres in all areas are unable to reopen viably under social distancing. We therefore urge the Chancellor to implement a sector specific support scheme for theatres and other events spaces which cannot reopen and are rapidly running out of money. This is vital to prevent further job losses on top of the 7,500 plus the industry has already suffered.