Boris Johnson has today announced the next phase of lockdown easing, coming in to play from 1 August 2020. This includes allowing indoor live performances, provided they are ‘Covid-secure’.
Part of the government guidelines on keeping businesses Covid-secure is “where possible you should keep people 2m apart. If this is not viable, keeping 1m apart with risk mitigation is acceptable.”
So although this is a step in the right direction towards returning to a world with live theatre, how many theatres will be able to afford to reopen with social distancing measures in place remains to be seen, as capacities will have to be much lower than usual.
Hopefully the government will give more information on exactly what this ease in restrictions means soon.
