Coronavirus has hit the industry hard. 2020 has left a hole in the heart of theatre, the seats emptied, the stages were left sparse and the foyers fell silent. The ghost lights came on and stayed on for far to long. Coronavirus has hit the world hard, we know that but little was done at the beginning to protect theatres in particular. The industry has lost millions in revenue and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
We all remember the March 2020 and will for a long time to come, but this was the month where all theatres closed their doors, not knowing when they could reopen. To begin with we thought it would just be a few months, then it turned into pretty much a whole year. Some regional theatres managed to put on a little bit of Christmas panto magic but again those were cut far too short.
At some points it seemed very possible that some theatres would simply not be able to afford to reopen, that would have been a nightmare that we here at Matinée Dog would not want to see! It is exciting to see that shows are now planning big comebacks. If the Governments plan to ease lockdown continues as planned we will all be back in theatres up and down the country very soon. We have several shows booked and cannot wait to get back.
According to The Guardian ticket sales dropped by 93% in the UK, this was directly linked to Coronavirus. It is hoped that this will very quickly pick up as we head out of this awful pandemic.
See you in a theatre soon!
