PANTOMIMES and theatre shows are at risk of cancellation because coronavirus restrictions remain tighter for productions than nightclubs, according to a leading director in Scotland.
While club-goers do not have to socially distance or wear face masks when dancing, actors on stage still have to stay one metre apart, have a barrier between them or don a face mask.
The distancing guidance was introduced in the final days of the Edinburgh Fringe.
“It’s a hammer blow,” said Andy Arnold, artistic director of Glasgow’s Tron Theatre.
He told the Sunday National that the theatre world was led to believe the one-metre rule would only have to be observed “wherever possible” when restrictions were lifted on August 9, and on that basis had employed 11 actors for an all-female production of The Tempest during the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November.
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While they will be socially distanced from each other most of the time, he said there were moments when they had to be together but were now barred by law unless they wore a face mask.
As well as threatening the Tron’s production, he said it would affect many others.
“Just now all the commercial theatres are hiring people for pantomimes and this puts those into jeopardy as well,” he said.
The warning comes after a leading theatre company said the rules meant it faced cancelling one major project with another under threat.
Matthew Lenton (below), artistic director of Vanishing Point, said the one-metre distancing rule for the stage was making some shows “unworkable” and called on the Scottish Government to lift it.
He said “urgent clarity” was needed as the company’s 2020 Scotland-wide tour of its critically acclaimed version of The Metamorphosis was cut short by the first Covid lockdown last year – and it is now considering whether to cancel the 2022 Scottish tour as the show depends on actors and crew being in close proximity.
Arnold highlighted that the ruling did not just apply to actors on stage.
He said: “It affects backstage when people are doing costume changes and quick scene changes and there is not a lot of space.
“It is pretty catastrophic and almost like a cut and paste error because suddenly it came from nowhere.
“We had been told the policy was that you should keep one metre apart where possible and which we are, most of the time, as we take it very seriously.
“But there are moments when people have to come together in performance and the irony is that nightclubs seem to allow a lack of social distancing and you can go to packed restaurants and everything else.”
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The rule also puts Scottish productions out of kilter with England, Arnold pointed out.
“They are rehearsing productions on the basis of no social distancing but if they come to Scotland it is different so it is just chaotic really,” he said.
“In England the audiences are also packed together but a lot of theatres here are going to be more guarded. Social distancing has been disbanded although the audiences still have to wear face masks, but along with other theatres we are going to have a gap between groups to make them feel more comfortable.”
Arnold said the Tron is planning to put rehearsal protocols in place involving daily lateral tests for all cast and crew and appropriate sanitising and health procedures at all times – but added the insistence on the one-metre distancing had to be lifted.
He said: “The rules need to be changed and need to be changed quickly.
“I think there is an acknowledgement that this is a strange anomaly but the question is whether they can change it back quickly enough so we can get on with our productions.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government understands how deeply the cultural sector has been affected by Covid-19.
“We have been engaging with the cultural and performing arts sector on this and other matters relating to the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are listening to their concerns and we are quickly reviewing the regulations with a view to ensuring their needs are met while balancing the risk to public health.”
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