In the face of the ongoing situation with Covid-19 I am going to attempt to keep on top of what is happening with local venues in the north west (focusing on the ones that regularly or occasionally programme dance and feature in this blog).
The different dates and statuses below are a reflection of the lack of certainty at this time but also (I think) the programming robustness of the venues to an extent.
Ultimately, when venues reopen will be down to a combination of two things: most importantly, when the government lifts restrictions allowing venues to open at all; and secondly when venues are able to restart and reschedule their programmes.
Let us not forget that with dance (and theatre more widely) many of the shows due to appear later in the year were not fully made. Casts and creative teams may no longer be available. And sadly, some companies will simply not have the resources to resume their previously planned activities.
These are some dark, dark times for a fragile industry where even the biggest and best funded are facing a catastrophic loss of income. Blackpool Grand, for example, although supported by ACE and Blackpool Council (not I imagine a very cash-rich council) earns 93% of its income through ticket sales. Sadler's Wells is a charity and makes more than 80% of its income from ticket sales and customer spend.
North West:
London:
The different dates and statuses below are a reflection of the lack of certainty at this time but also (I think) the programming robustness of the venues to an extent.
Ultimately, when venues reopen will be down to a combination of two things: most importantly, when the government lifts restrictions allowing venues to open at all; and secondly when venues are able to restart and reschedule their programmes.
Let us not forget that with dance (and theatre more widely) many of the shows due to appear later in the year were not fully made. Casts and creative teams may no longer be available. And sadly, some companies will simply not have the resources to resume their previously planned activities.
These are some dark, dark times for a fragile industry where even the biggest and best funded are facing a catastrophic loss of income. Blackpool Grand, for example, although supported by ACE and Blackpool Council (not I imagine a very cash-rich council) earns 93% of its income through ticket sales. Sadler's Wells is a charity and makes more than 80% of its income from ticket sales and customer spend.
North West:
- Blackpool Grand: closed until further notice
- CONTACT were due to take repossession of their building in March following their closure for rebuilding. They have obviously been unable to do this and are 'reviewing this on 14 April'. I don't know what their planned opening date or programme was before this additional delay.
- HOME closed until the end of June
- Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield: closed until further notice.
- Liverpool Playhouse (& Everyman): closed until further notice.
- The Lowry: closed until at least the end of May
- The Palace Theatre and Opera House: all performances suspended until 31 May. (This is the case for all Ambassador Theatre Group theatres so also applies to the Liverpool Empire, Leeds Grand, etc.)
- Unity Theatre, Liverpool: closed until 31 May
- Riley Theatre, Leeds: all future shows on hold until further notice.
- Royal Exchange Theatre: closed until the autumn.
- Storyhouse, Chester: closed until further notice
- Waterside, Sale: closed until further notice
- Z-Arts: all performance cancelled until 30 June
London:
- Barbican: closed until 30 June
- Royal Opera House: closed until further notice
- Sadler's Wells: all shows cancelled until 9 June
- Southbank Centre (Queen Elizabeth Hall); closed until 30 June