This government says it's 'here for culture' but wrong-foots UK theatre at every step
Last Friday I was thrilled to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their family to our dress rehearsal of Pantoland at the Palladium. It’s a celebration of the last four years of the London Palladium pantomimes I have created with my resident team of Julian Clary, Nigel Havers, Paul Zerdin and Gary Wilmot, featuring returning stars Elaine Paige, Charlie Stemp, Ashley Banjo and Diversity, and panto debuts from Beverley Knight and Jac Yarrow.
The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, also attended this special performance. Imagine my joy when I saw him cackle at jokes about Matt Hancock and scotch eggs! Dowden may have been crying with laughter but today my company are weeping because their show is being closed by a government that has wrong-footed the theatre industry every step of the way since the pandemic hit.
It began in March with the prime minister advising the public not to go to theatres without officially closing them, which I can only assume was to avoid huge insurance payouts. I then publicly and privately asked the government for clarity regarding the reopening of theatres in order to proceed with my 2020/21 pantomime season across 35 regional theatres, which I produce through the pantomime company I co-own. That clarity was not forthcoming, so productions were postponed or cancelled by 12 months.
Like it or loathe it, pantomime is the lifeblood of most regional theatres. For those who do not receive subsidy, pantomime is the subsidy. Imagine our joy when the wondrous team at the National Lottery came up with the idea of creating Covid-safe pantomimes to be presented in a socially distanced fashion, which they would support financially. While these productions would still require ticket sales at the box office, the lottery support, which was not “good cause money”, gave us confidence to proceed.
The scheme was backed by Dowden and the project’s PR used his name for it, Operation Sleeping Beauty. Ten theatres, including the London Palladium, which was part of the project, were thrown into doubt by the lockdown announced in October, but government guidance encouraged us to keep rehearsing, building and preparing for our shows. The prime minister originally stated that the lockdown would end on 2 December. However, it was simply replaced by the tiering system, meaning our productions in Stoke, Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham and Newcastle either had to be cancelled or postponed.
Rehearsals commenced for the Palladium panto, as did the huge expenditure that it takes to produce a show of this scale. Many jobs for the regional freelance community were created. Jobs for actors, stage management, musicians, wardrobe, creatives as well as scenic workshops, prop-makers, lighting and sound supplies, not to mention the army of theatre staff it takes to create and run a show.
We enjoyed a historic opening in the presence of the royal family that made headlines around the world. Many esteemed theatre colleagues including producers Cameron Mackintosh, Sonia Friedman and Nica Burns all commented on the goodwill our production was creating. It is safe to say that if the royal family could attend with stringent Covid measures in place, then the 1,000-strong audience per performance over the next three weeks (reduced from 1,200 in another sloppy piece of government advice) would be safe at the Palladium.
To learn that the guidelines were changing again and that today we must close has been devastating for all of us. Let me be clear: I am very aware that we are in the middle of a pandemic. I am equally aware that the health and safety of audiences is of paramount importance but here is the issue: the advice to the theatre industry about reopening has been shambolic.
This government has no understanding of an industry which has already lost more than £1bn since March. Their much lauded £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund gave just 0.8% to the commercial sector, which is the biggest provider of economic output to the industry. On Friday at the Palladium, the government attached their brand to our seats and programmes, stating “Here for culture”. I think not.
Michael Harrison is a producer and joint owner and managing director of Qdos Pantomimes.
