In 2018, more than 34million tickets were sold, over double attendance of Premier League football, and generating £211 million in VAT alone for HMRC. Over 50% of theatres are charities or trusts, operating not for profit.

Over 100,000 people visit London to watch a West End show every single week - and for every £1 spent at the theatre they spend another £3 on food, drink, accommodation and travel. That's over £500 million per year into those industries.

As other industries begin to reopen, the future of theatre is bleak. 2 metre social distancing means most theatres can operate at max 9-15% audience capacity. 1m distancing means max 33%. Theatres need 50-60% capacity just to cover their costs.

Survey of 40,000 theatregoers says only 15-20% would attend if theatres open now. We need to be past social distancing, or have other solutions before we can safely & economically open. Many believe that’s unlikely before early 2021. 70% of theatres will be bankrupt by then.

We can’t safely open up theatres now. We can’t economically open theatres now. And audiences wouldn’t come even if we did.

There are 3 theatre workforces:- permanent full-time venue staff; freelance/short-term staff employed for a specific show- actors, musicians, crew & creatives; & casual day-to-day staff such as follow-spot operators, ushers & dressers. This is simplified, it’s more complex IRL

On a typical show: 20% full-time employees, 80% freelance/short-term/casual. Many mix freelance & short-term PAYE- not thru choice but because how HMRC classify work. Consequently MAJORITY of us excluded from SEISS freelance support scheme, and don’t qualify for furlough

Most people I know have received NO INCOME & NO SUPPORT SINCE MARCH. And they have no prospects of any work for the remainder of 2020. Freelancers are in a desperate situation. ExcludedUK estimate 3 million UK freelancers are in similar position.

With reserves drying up & no support from Gov, theatres can’t afford to keep furloughing full-time staff. They’re going into administration, or starting 30%-50% staff cuts. We’re at the start of a tidal wave of redundancies that’ll sweep across the country over the next 3 weeks.

Online theatre can’t save us. Playing to small audiences can’t save us. Outdoor theatre can’t save us. We need external help & we need it fast. Both for individuals excluded from government income support, and for the theatres that employ us, either full-time or otherwise.

Whatever you think of the arts, the economics of the situation are very simple.

Without government support, estimates suggest that 200,000 people who are currently without work, or will imminently lose their current job, will have to start claiming benefits.

Without government support, many theatres won’t be able to re-open, or will be utterly eviscerated. HMRC won’t receive the £200+ million VAT we normally pay to them each year.

Allowing theatre to die isn’t just heartless, it’s bad economics.

These are just the statistics for theatre - the wider creative industries, like live music, face similar issues, closures and redundancies. And these industries all affect our food & drink, travel, accommodation and tourism industries too.

Just amazing to have been able to perform live theatre this weekend with Half a String, and to bee part of The Marlowe Theatre’s wonderful #LoveYourTheatre festival #ISavedABee #SaveTheArts Louisa Ashton Peter Morton

Exciting opportunity for any theatre artists who are interested in making site specific work.

Puppet Centre Trust 2019 - The Year in Puppetry This film showcases the wide variety of UK puppetry productions performed, viewed and created in 2019. A very special thanks to all the companies and artists who contributed to the making of this film. youtu.be/frBbc4FTqKE

ANNOUNCEMENT!!! We're over the moon to announce The Hatchling, a spectacular & enormous dragon will hatch, roam and FLY from the clifftops of Plymouth this summer. We will reclaim the streets with ground breaking new public art. #TheHatchling thehatchling.co.uk

Well that’s a big puppet..