How will theatre function when the lockdown ends?

@posterj  not really thought about musicals which rarely if ever fit int the cheap and simple category especially the long runners as with both musicians and cast the number of people involved is relatively huge and therefore the risk of cast infection is higher.

Southwark Playhouse has put on many musicals recently which I assume are relatively simple as not seen any could be the model initially?

What gets me down is that theatre is one of the most important things in my life. I hate sports, don't really spend my money on much else besides theatre and live comedy, that's where I direct all my passion. So without it, my life feels genuinely bereft. And the bad thing is that it feels like such a first world problem, oh you can;t go to the theatre? Big deal. But it really is!

Theatre will be back, but what makes you think it’ll be back quickly? Genuine question as I’m on the other side of the fence but would love to be wrong.

I don’t think social distancing inside a theatre is practical at all - the queue for the bathrooms are infamously long and horrendous without 2m gaps, the bar is always 5 or 6 people deep at intervals and other than the long runners, I don’t think a show can dramatically reduce capacity and survive. Most west end theatres already make you feel like you’re sat on top of each other, so you’d need a good 2 or 3 seats empty either side of you, and I dare say 2 rows in front of you and behind you too. Then how do you stop people getting in and out of the one or two exists safely, without crowds forming?

It’s bad enough when someone coughs at the theatre anyway, but now if someone coughs it’s going to take you out of the moment and make you worry. So I don’t see theatres re-opening until it’s completely safe to do so... and even then, there’s the question of audiences feeling safe enough to sit with strangers, alongside the question of personal finances: I imagine a lot of people will not be spending money on luxuries and will actually start to save once this is over - for fear of a repeat bought of hardship.

Then of course is the question of how you fund new productions, whether shows can afford to return or whether they will survive and endure once the government lifts the ban (which presumably will be before public confidence has been restored). Returning to full form is going to be a long game as - and unless I’m missing something, this current situation is much more than just an industry pause.

What use would spaced out seating be when everyone would be crowded into the foyer/toilets/corridors etc anyway?

Once public transport is allowed to return to 'normal', then surely there is no justification in keeping theatres closed. Given a choice between sitting in a theatre with 499 others, or crowding onto a commuter train, I'd pick the former every time.

The TUBE is still running - first it be more people working then being allowed to go shopping. But sitting in a confined space like a theatre will literally be the last thing back bar massive outdoor events.

 Fewer ticket sales means shorter queues for the toilets, and social distancing (as opposed to self isolation) isn't supposed to be about eliminating all risk, it's about reducing it. So spending three minutes in a toilet queue is still better than spending five minutes in a toilet queue AND two hours with a group of entirely new people who might not be trusted to stay at home if they have a temperature sitting half a metre behind you.

Sitting side to side isn't going to be such a big problem in itself if everyone is spending most of the time facing the front, but getting in and out of rows would be.

I'd say it's a possible half-way house for those who are a bit more bold, which isn't risk free, but is significantly less risky than now. However, I'd say a big problem with it is that the very fact you are spread out acts as a constant reminder that it's still not entirely safe out there.

The financial viability is another thing. But if the alternative is for them to be empty then it might be a way for some theatres to generate some income. No-one will be getting rich by operating that way, but it might keep a few people in employment and pay towards general upkeep. 

I'd like to think that some theatre owners or producers with deep pockets will use the time to refurbish some theatres. Perhaps spread the seats out a bit for the purposes of leg-room if nothing else.

The public transport network will be fully functioning long before theatres can reopen. I fully support the value of the arts, but people need the tube to get about for essential work, and to visit family and friends. If anything, authorities will be keen to keep theatres shut, as well as encouraging people to keep on working from home where possible, to keep the tube network as empty as possible for those who do need to use it.

Well, "quickly" is a flexible term - I don't expect everything to be back to normal within one or two months, but I also don't expect the doom-mongering here that sees theatres closed to the end of the year or even through 2021.

Why? Because so many areas of the economy are based on people being in close proximity to each other: Public transport from the local bus to long-haul flights, all sorts of events from theatre and cinema to sports events to conferences, factories and large warehouses, every shopping street and market, every aspect of tourism... and when you look at just how hard a one-month-lockdown has already hit the global economy, it just isn't feasible to sustain this over six month (or more).

I expect a step-by-step opening up: Small shops first, restaurants, smaller cinemas and theatres, too. And yes, if necessary with gaps between people. I mean, the cinema I regularly visit is rarely ever "full" and people cluster together in the middle section of the last 4-5 rows, so they can easily spread out. We may not see a packed Palladium for several months, but at least for the long-runs and producers with deep pockets it may be more profitable to run shows in front of 200 people than generating no income at all. It will be longer until big venues of +5000 seats (such as football stadiums) will open up again and I don't expect to see any rock festivals happening at all this year with 50,000 crammed together in front of a stage. But I do think it's possible to let a few hundred healthy people who are very observant of current hygiene rules (wash hands, use a face mask) within close proximity of each other in a theatre.

Of course I could be wrong. This is just my personal thinking and hoping. I know that as soon as things are opening up again I will be on my way to London to support the industry I love so much...

Regarding the comparison with commuting, that's more up to the individual, really - if you get sick you stay home. With theatre there's the whole ecosystem - FOH will be in the front line, and even if the actors don't themselves fall ill, they will surely have loved ones falling ill. I can't see theatre coming back quickly unless it's the small, Soho theatre, studio theatre type situation where casts are small, prices and costs low and the audience is young and not living with immediate/vulnerable dependants.

We may see a period of independent creatives making work for streaming instead - it could be interesting, more in the old school, punk DIY tradition.

Many will probably disagree, but I like to think I am just a 'regular' person, surrounded by other 'regular' people, so at the risk of this post coming back to bite me, here's what I think are the thoughts of the man on the Clapham omnibus.

The British are, on the whole, rule takers...but only up to a point. Since mid-March we've had mostly stick, but over the coming weeks I think we'll be incentivised with more carrot...something along the lines of "Follow the regulations until the VE Day weekend, then we'll look at gradually relaxing them." If we're still in anything like the current lockdown by the late May bank holiday, I can genuinely see widespread, and unstoppable, civil disobedience.

The Waynes of this world are already taking to Twitter to complain that their parents have paid, upfront, the 3K ground rent for their caravans, but have only been able to visit Skegness twice this year. And whilst professing to be the NHS's biggest supporters, those on the far-left will take a certain pride in disobeying a Conservative administration, and signalling it to their 15 followers!

Depends on economics - the main reason people will rebel is fear of destitution. Italy and Spain have both passed their peak with weeks of lockdown to go - be interesting to see how people are reacting there in the coming weeks.