Ironically, the most commercially successful of Britain’s theatres are hardest hit, because they rely wholly on box-office revenue
is still set. The most recent production at Northern Stage, a theatre on Newcastle University’s campus, was in technical rehearsals when Britain went into lockdown. Props from the show are strewn across the stage. At the back of the auditorium, a bag of popcorn and a bottle of Lucozade lie on a table, as if the crew expected to return at any moment. “This show is ‘Arriving’,” explains Kate Denby, the venue’s executive director. Indeed.
Ironically, the most commercially successful places are hardest hit, because they rely wholly on box-office revenue. Northern Stage, for instance, has continued to receive its regular grant from Arts Council England , which makes up two-fifths of its income. The Theatre Royal, a charity that stages crowd-pleasing musicals and blockbuster plays, has lost everything.
But many of the most renowned venues, including theatres in London’s West End, are likely to use the money for mothballing, not productions. They need to sell tickets for about four in five seats for every performance just to break even. That is incompatible with social-distancing rules, even if the government lifts its ban on live performances.
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