Theatres Trust response to five-step roadmap for reopening theatres

In response to the the announcement on 25 June, Theatres Trust Director Jon Morgan says:

"The Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden’s announcement of a five-step roadmap for reopening of theatres is a move in the right direction, but critically it does not offer any timescales for stages 3 to 5, the stages when audiences will be admitted to performances. Without this detail theatres will still be unable to plan effectively for their reopening. The impact of this uncertainty is devastating for the theatre industry.

Each day there is news of another theatre making large-scale redundancies and for every day of delay there is the grave danger of more theatres closing permanently. The government must urgently confirm ‘no earlier than’ dates for stages 3 to 5 and respond to the sector’s calls for a financial rescue package to protect our world class theatre. Without this critical support, we face a cultural catastrophe."

The five steps announced are: 

• Stage One – Rehearsal and training, with no audiences and adhering to social distancing guidelines
• Stage Two – Performances for broadcast and recording purposes, adhering to social distancing guidelines
• Stage Three – Performances outdoors with an audience plus pilots for indoor performances with a limited distance audience
• Stage Four – Performances allowed indoors and outdoors, but with a limited distanced audience indoors
• Stage Five – Performances allowed indoors and outdoors, with a fuller audience indoors