England's theatres to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place

England's theatres closed in March owing to the Covid-19 outbreak

epa08530558 The Sondheim theatre which was showing the long running musical 'Les Miserables' in the West End of London, Britain, 06 July 2020. Britain's government has announced a 1.57bn pounds emergency support package to help protect the futures of theatres, galleries and museum across the country. Many arts institutions are facing financial difficulty due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. EPA/NEIL HALL

London theatres have been closed since March, but are due to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place. EPA

Farah Andrews

Jul 19, 2020

Theatres in England can reopen for socially distanced indoor performances from August 1, it was announced yesterday.

Ahead of that date, the government is working on pilot openings to establish guidelines for venues before they welcome guests back.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an announcement: "From August 1, we will restart live indoor performances to a live audience, subject to the success of pilots, and we will pilot larger gatherings with a view to a wider reopening in the autumn."

Oliver Dowden, the UK's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, tweeted that he was "pleased to make progress to Stage 4 of our road map for culture".

From 1 August socially distanced audiences can return for indoor performances in theatres, music halls and other venues. This builds on pilots with @londonsymphony and others. So pleased to make progress to Stage 4 of our road map for culture. pic.twitter.com/Js7dQUghZ6
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) July 17, 2020

Theatres in London’s West End closed on March 16 “until further notice”, as part of a move to limit the spread of the coronavirus. There have since been fears for the future of performances, as the closure lasted much longer than anticipated.

The Chelsea Flower show - Arrivals

Featuring: Judi Dench
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 20 May 2019
Credit: Lia Toby/WENN.com — Dame Judi Dench has spoken about the future of London's West End. Wenn

In June, actress Dame Judi Dench told Channel 4 News that she didn't think London's West End was "going to recover" without government help.

“It’s a desperate feeling, and when will they ever open again?” she said. "I don’t know, certainly, I’m sure not in my lifetime.

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"I’m not saying that it should be more prioritised than anything else, but it just is going to be very serious. It’s a very serious effect on all of us. If the theatres now close and become dark. I don’t know when we’re going to get them back."

Jon Morgan, director of Theatres Trust, has labelled the news "a step in the right direction".

However, he added the caution that "for most theatres it will not be economically viable to reopen with the 30 to 40 per cent audience required under social distancing".

In the capital, socially distanced performances have been trialled at the London Palladium and with the London Symphony Orchestra.