Jon Morgan, director of the Theatres Trust, has responded to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech to MPs and the new Covid-19 restrictions:
While not directly mentioning theatres, this curfew demonstrates that town and city centre businesses such as theatres continue to be under threat. Theatres that were considering reopening with social distancing in place will be less likely to take the risk. Crucially the six month time frame signals that we will not see theatres being able to fully reopen in the near future – the all-important Stage 5 in the government’s recovery roadmap. With the job retention scheme ceasing at the end of October, it will herald more job losses, will risk more theatres closing permanently – and will result in irreversible damage to our cultural landscape. It is imperative that the government considers sector-specific support such as extending the furlough scheme until such time as it is safe for theatres to reopen fully.