Exit, Back On Stage
Oliver Dowden, Member of Parliament for Hertsmere + Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for the Government of the United Kingdom, announced today on Twitter that indoor theatres, music venues, and performance spaces in the U.K. can resume live performances starting August 1.
Delighted indoor performances can resume from 1 August!
— Julian Bird (@julianpbird) July 17, 2020
Socially distanced audiences for now but we hope to build towards full audiences very soon! https://t.co/KtlsOEHQVx
Julian Bird, the CEO of the Society of London Theatre, shared the joyous news from the U.K. Government, but stressed that we must continue to practice social distancing, but the Society Of London Theatre also stresses that not every theatre production can open up right away, it takes time to set up social distancing for each theatre, as well as a performance.
SOLT | UK Theatre are delighted that indoor performances can resume with socially distanced audiences from 1 August.
— Official London Theatre (@london_theatre) July 17, 2020
Please read a statement from @julianpbird, Chief Executive of @SOLTnews & @uk_theatre. #DailyBriefinguk pic.twitter.com/Wt8gt6WBO7
Even before the U.K. gave the green light on indoor performances, theatre legends like Andrew Lloyd Webber used over $300,000 of his own money to buy COVID19 proofing equipment shipped from Korea, to use in his Palladium Theatre, where temperatures are taken, venue is disinfected, and no social distancing required.
Also bare in mind that the August 1 indoor date is only for England, not all countries under the U.K. government that have their own restrictions, it’s also another reason why “Six The Musical” cancelled their attempt at doing outdoor performances, since COVID19 cases fluctuate in different parts of the U.K.