Theatre | The Guardian: A growing number of shows have been announced both in London and around the country. But how does a socially distanced night out at the theatre work? And if theatres can’t fit as many people in as they did pre-pandemic, does that mean tickets are more expensive?
3 comments:
I really enjoyed reading this article, because it gave a first-hand account of how a socially distanced theater setting is like. Up until now, whatever I have heard about such theater have been conjectures or assumptions but no one has really talked about it in a setting where they have experienced it, which is not the best if one is looking for some concrete knowledge of how to approach theater during this pandemic.
The theaters in London have made significant changes to their settings, which is such a great act, given the need for such actions and the fact that they are doing this just speaks lengths of their commitment to entertain audiences given whatever the situation may be. I hope that their measures can continue to be as effective as they have up till now, and then maybe someday, these theaters can go back to the way they were before a pandemic came crashing down on everyone.
I think the concept of socially distanced theatre or theatre happening right now is a little scary for a lot of audience members (and performers and design teams). I think this helped dispel a lot of these fears with explicitly explaining how these theatrical endeavors have been able to continue on and happen, even if there have been numerous changes. As this article is talking about what is happening in West End and across the United Kingdom, it makes me wonder when the United States will be able to follow suit, because our cases are still rising and flourishing in the states and I don’t feel like we are anywhere close to getting back to live socially distanced theatre in actual venues, even in an extreme socially distanced way, without it being a hotspot for potential spread of coronavirus. The article also brought up a point that I hadn’t thought about but makes sense to me: accessibility (or lack therof) to these shows through affordable ticket pricing. In a pre-covid world this was a large topic of conversation, in making theatre more accessible and economical for audiences to dispel the classism that is ingrained in our craft, but that might no longer be possible because of theatres’ financial needs to just stay afloat.
As someone who has yet to even eat outdoors at a restaurant, it is hard to imagine sitting indoors for a period long enough to watch a show, in a theater or in a cinema. I miss it and I support those who are going, I would just panic sitting there. It would likely be hard to put Covid-19 out of mind to focus on the production. Then again, theatre can often be a wonderful distraction, and I would like to go… I would just also like it to be safe to do so. In the meantime, I have a free trial of BroadwayHD and access to other recordings that have been shared by companies. The idea of fewer seats filled in a theatre meaning positive externalities as an audience member is a plus, a better view and more legroom is always ideal, but my heart does ache for the loss in revenue for the company. It is definitely a conundrum, and I trust that everyone will do what is best for them.
-Ariel Bernhard
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