PM gives go-ahead for 17 May reopening plans

Theatres and entertainment venues across England are preparing for the first stage in the reopening process following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s confirmation that the next stage of the ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown will proceed as planned with the return of live socially distanced indoor performances from 17 May 2021.

While noting that the third stage of the unlock plan was the most ambitious to date, the PM also said he was cautiously optimistic that the fourth and stage which includes measures for the return of full capacity performances would go ahead as planned from 21 June.

Responding to the PM’s latest announcements, the chief executive of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, Julian Bird said: “Today’s confirmation that Step 3 of the Government roadmap will go ahead on 17 May is very good news, allowing England’s theatre industry to begin the process of reopening. A number of theatres will be welcoming audiences back to socially distanced performances while also creating work for our world leading workforce.

“Theatres will be following our industry wide See it Safely protocols to ensure a consistency of customer experience and that the latest government Covid guidelines are being followed. We are optimistic that this announcement paves the way for a full reopening from 21 June, and it is hugely encouraging to see audience confidence growing, reflected in increasing ticket sales.”

As planned 17 May allows for the return of most outdoor entertainment including outdoor theatres while indoor entertainment will be allowed to resume with measures including social distancing still in place and capacities capped at 50% or 1000 people for indoor shows and 50% or 4000 for outdoor performances.

If all goes well, the PM hopes to move onto step four from 21 June when it hopes to remove the majority of the restrictions that have made it impossible for theatres and other venues to operate at full capacity. As before the PM resisted pressure to bring stage four forward, citing the need for a minimum of five weeks between each step to allow the Government four weeks to study any adverse effects of the lifting of each set of restrictions, to enable the Government to give businesses a week’s notice before the next set of restrictions are relaxed and to lessen the chance of a sudden return to lockdown.

With the devolved governments continuing to opt for a different approach, the relaxation of the restrictions announced by the PM on Monday applies to England only. In Scotland plans to move into Level 2 from 17 May only allow venues to open with a two-metre social distancing system. The Federation of Scottish Theatres has expressed concern about ‘the continued uncertainty and lack of clarity in Scotland’ which the body claims is resulting in increased nervousness and unwillingness of producers booking their productions and concerts into Scotland’s venues.

Theatre lovers in Wales will have to wait until Thursday (13 May) to find out if the Welsh government will stick to its plans to allow the reopening of indoor entertainment venues including theatre and cinemas, while Northern Ireland is yet to confirm its plans beyond the previous announcement of an ‘indicative date of 24 May’ for the reopening of indoor and visitor attractions including cinemas, although the guidance does not specify theatres and excludes music venues.

Angela Thomas