Outdoor theatres allowed to resume performances from this weekend, announces culture secretary
Outdoor arts performances including theatre, opera, dance and music will be able to resume from this weekend, the culture secretary has announced.
Oliver Dowden said that performances would be able to take place outside from July 11, as long as there is “a limited and socially distanced audience”.
Small indoor performances with socially distanced audiences will also start to take place, as the government looks at how to get the industry back up and running.
Dowden said: “Our culture, heritage and arts are too precious to lose. That’s why we’re protecting venues like theatres from redevelopment if they fall on hard times.
“We are also giving further clarity on restart dates in our roadmap back to performance. From July 11 we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing and we are working hard to get indoor audiences back as soon as we safely can, following pilots.”
He added that a scientific research project is underway to “help speed up this journey."
"Combined with our £1.57bn rescue package, this is a comprehensive plan to help our brilliant arts organisations weather the covid storm and bounce back stronger.”
This announcement moves measures into step three of the culture secretary’s previously announced roadmap to getting theatres and arts venues back open.
Chief executive of the Society of London Theatre, Julian Bird, said: “We continue to urge the government to publish ‘no earlier than’ dates for initial indoor performances with a socially distanced audience and most importantly for full venue reopening to allow theatres and producers to plan and prepare."
The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, which has postponed its entire season to 2021, said it will be exploring ways to “find an economic way for us to be able to open for a shorter period later this summer”.
