Above: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (West End) Tim Howar (The Phantom) and Kelly Mathieson (Christine Daae). Photo: Johan Persson "November at the Earliest!" Isn’t it interesting how, back in March, ‘theatre’ seemed to shut down overnight – in fact it was Monday, 16th March when Boris Johnson ‘advised’ everyone in the UK against non-essential travel and contact with others, and to avoid visiting social venues such as pubs, clubs or theatres. Yet the process of reopening the same theatres has fast become the cause for grave concern. In this instance of course both amateur and professional theatre companies are facing similar challenges, but because we ‘amateurs’ are seen as participating in a mere ‘hobby’ (don’t laugh!), the focus and push (if you can call it a push) is for the industry of professionals to get back on track, where careers are forged and the big bucks are earned & spent. Watch Sardines' Assistant Editor, Fariba, deliver this week's comment... Speaking on Radio Four this week, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that indoor theatre – without social distancing – according to the Prime Minister, will only be able to take place in November at the earliest. It’s the ‘at the earliest’ bit that will put the final nail in the coffin of pantomime this year. No pantomimes will go ahead while social distancing is in place; it’s as simple as that. And if the slightest risk is present then no producer will spend any money on mounting a show. There’s too much at stake. Both of the major pantomime producers who we recently interviewed – for our August online special, more about that later – are adamant that social distancing makes it impossible for panto to operate. And all the while, of course, this is assuming that a second wave or spike of Coronavirus won’t be happening – which in itself is against what almost 90% of you think. Remember our poll? I’m sure that Beverley Knight’s ‘pilot’ concert at the London Palladium last weekend – introduced by the theatre’s owner, Andrew Lloyd Webber, himself – sounded amazing but, looking at the crowd of 500 (25% of the Palladium’s capacity), all in facemasks throughout the entire show carefully seated around a sea of red ‘Xs’ indicating where you can’t sit, not allowed to sing along, as a theatre show it really didn’t look all that appetising – no matter how much you miss going to the theatre. Beverley Knight at the London Palladium A 500-strong audience watched the concert Besides, I’m sure Andrew Lloyd Webber must have other things to worry about at the moment. On Tuesday came the tragic news that his jewel in the crown, The Phantom of the Opera, is to close in the West End after almost thirty-four years – indeed the world’s second-longest running musical production. Curiously, Lord Lloyd Webber has since stated that he hopes the show will actually reopen – in its original form – as soon as possible, sparking (or possibly quashing) a host of conspiracy theories linked to co-producer Cameron Mackintosh; not only the issue of cast & crew redundancies, but the possible re-designing of the entire show to avoid paying the original creatives upon its return – as was done with Mackintosh’s recently redesigned Les Mis. Who wants to be a billionaire? Eh! Back in the world of amateur theatre, we all sit patiently working out if it’s worth producing an open-air production (as we know several non-professional theatres are in fact doing) or just sticking to YouTube and Zoom for the time being (of which many of you are also doing). Either way, what is happening to your own panto plans? Please let us know in about 75 words and you could be featured in our next issue. Just email us HERE. We asked a single question last week to get your opinion on a possible vaccine in order to bring our theatres back to life. We asked: Do you believe a Covid-19 vaccine is on the way, and will it turn things around? While almost 80% think a vaccine is definitely on the way, 57% of respondents don't think it will appear until next year sometime. Speaking of our next issue which will be out in August, please don’t forget that you will need a digital subscription to read it because it’s not being printed and distributed in the usual way; August’s issue will be online only and will also coincide with the launch of our brand-new website. To make sure you can access this online-only issue we’ve introduced some very low digital-only rates. Just £7.50 gets you six months of digital access while £12.00 gives you a whole year. Print subscribers all get digital access automatically. Inside the next issue we have a great interview with Ruthie Henshall who, incidentally, was more concerned with the state of the theatre industry than she was plugging her own concert dates; lots of lockdown stories and news; plus a special feature on pantomime… and why it’s almost certainly NOT going to happen in December. By the way, by next Friday we’ll almost certainly know whether pantomime will or won’t be happening this year because Qdos will have officially announced their decision by then, and they’re the biggest panto operator in the world. Qdos produces the spectacular Palladium pantomime each year as well as a myriad of shows all over the country. Just click below... SUBSCRIBE HERE I Couldn't Have Said it Better! Michael Billington's open letter in The Guardian - 3 July 2020 Dear Oliver Dowden, You presumably heard Boris Johnson, when asked at prime minister’s questions this week about the future of theatre, declare that ‘the show must go on’. I wonder what your reaction was. Did you let out a silent cheer? Or did you, like the rest of us, groan at Johnson’s hollow bombast at a time when not only theatre but the whole per-forming arts sector faces decimation by December? We are in a situation like that in a Shakespeare history play, where messengers arrive hourly with bad news from all ends of the kingdom. The Nuffield Southampton, which combines a new city centre theatre with a longstanding campus playhouse, is closing, with 86 roles made redundant. The Theatre Royal Plymouth has made its entire artistic team redundant and the Royal Exchange Manchester may have to make 65% of its staff redundant. The story is much the same wherever you look, be it Birmingham, Norwich or Perth. Even the big, seemingly well-protected institutions are not immune: the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, was reported in the London Evening Standard to be ‘facing closure’. So what are you and your team at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport doing to reassure the arts community and provide a concrete plan of action? Well so far you have come up with a five-phase roadmap for the performing arts that is worse than useless. Sam Goldwyn said that ‘a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on’ and a roadmap that offers no clue as to how to get to one’s destination is positively insulting. What’s most alarming is that it reveals a total incomprehension as to how the arts actually work. A Phase 1 stage of ‘rehearsal and training’ supposedly leads to a Phase 4 and 5 stage of outdoor and indoor performance. But how can any theatre start rehearsing a production when it has no guarantee of financial support nor any idea whether it will even exist in a few weeks’ time? Wouldn’t that be the height of irresponsibility? It’s time, Mr Dowden, you faced up to a simple truth: artists know much more about the arts than politicians. So far the most practical plan for the theatre has come from Sam Mendes, who has made numerous recommendations: increasing the theatre’s tax-relief scheme from 20% to 50%, inviting the government to become theatrical ‘angels’ by investing in productions, challenging the streaming services to put money into an industry from which they directly benefit. Have you spoken to Sir Sam about his ideas? Have you co-opted him onto the cultural renewal taskforce you have set up? Or are you simply fiddle-faddling while Rome burns? I also wonder if you have spoken to your European counterparts about protecting the arts from economic ruin. I am well aware that you are part of a Brexit-driven government that relies on the myth of British exceptionalism. But it is surely worth noting that the German government has pledged €1bn to support the arts in crisis and that the French have, among other measures, created a fund of €7bn for small businesses, including those that have had to cancel shows and film shoots. By comparison our £160m Arts Council emergency package looks like very small beer. I’ve never met you and I’m ready to believe you are well-intentioned. But I wonder if you have even begun to grasp the scale of the crisis facing the performing arts – theatre, opera and dance as well as classical music – in this country. Unless you come up soon with a detailed, precise, properly financed plan of action you will go down in history as the politician who presided over the dissolution of the arts in Britain. The only thing one can say for sure is that the show definitely won’t go on.