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Practicalities of re-opening in late Spring 2021 (previously Autumn 2020) - or thereafter?

FionaM
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Bruce Wall

Bruce Wall

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From the struggling STAGE ..

 

Sadler’s Wells could make about 50 of its staff redundant as part of efforts to reduce costs during the pandemic, as performing arts venues remain unable to reopen.

 

The London dance organisation said it had entered into consultations with its permanent and fixed-term staff, with 51 roles at risk of redundancy. This represents 26% of its workforce.

 

The job cuts are part of a wider programme of "proposed organisational change and efficiency measures" and are being carried out alongside other cost-cutting procedures.

...... 

Edited by Ian Macmillan
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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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5 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

From the struggling STAGE ..

 

Sadler’s Wells could make about 50 of its staff redundant as part of efforts to reduce costs during the pandemic, as performing arts venues remain unable to reopen.

 

The London dance organisation said it had entered into consultations with its permanent and fixed-term staff, with 51 roles at risk of redundancy. This represents 26% of its workforce.

 

The job cuts are part of a wider programme of "proposed organisational change and efficiency measures" and are being carried out alongside other cost-cutting procedures.

...... 

 

Blame ignorance, but I'm quite surprised that Sadler's Wells employs 200-ish people. Is that normal for a venue? Or is there more to it than meets the eye? (I know if we include the Peacock it's two venues.)

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Blame ignorance, but I'm quite surprised that Sadler's Wells employs 200-ish people. Is that normal for a venue? Or is there more to it than meets the eye? (I know if we include the Peacock it's two venues.)

 

I don't know the exact makeup of the staff but there would be a number of shifts of box office staff, duty managers, front of house staff, technicians, HR, Admin etc, etc.  If many of the staff are not full time it's surprising the numbers of people that could be employed.

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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16 minutes ago, capybara said:

Meanwhile, ENB has written to Friends about the fact that Sadlers Wells is extending its period of closure until the 24th January and that Akram Khan's Creature will not now have its premiere until the autumn of 2021.

 

And I've just received an email from Matthew Bourne putting his Nutcracker tour back a year.

 

The extension of the Sadler's Wells closure means that the last possible venue for BRB's Autumn tour is also not available to them so the whole tour has gone (as with Northern Ballet and ENB).

 

This whole crisis just seems to be getting worse by the day without any light at the end of the tunnel.

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Jeannette

Jeannette

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12 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

....

 

This whole crisis just seems to be getting worse by the day without any light at the end of the tunnel.

 

I think you’re right, Jan. I held hope that Putin’s so-called “Sputnik V” rocket-accelerated vaccine would be legit but just today, the Mariinsky’s abbreviated run of Giselle was cancelled hours before the initial show (14 August Tereshkina/Schklyarov).

 

We can maintain sanity with our  DVDs and/or occasional streams of complete ballets...because I sure am getting tired of the made-at-home cutesy creations filmed in basements, kitchens & back yards! That was ok in April; not now.

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Guest oncnp

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8 minutes ago, Jeannette said:

 

 I held hope that Putin’s so-called “Sputnik V” rocket-accelerated vaccine would be legit …….

 

Legit? "Tested" on < 50 people and no Phase III testing at all?  

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Beryl H

Beryl H

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1 hour ago, capybara said:

Meanwhile, ENB has written to Friends about the fact that Sadlers Wells is extending its period of closure until the 24th January and that Akram Khan's Creature will not now have its premiere until the autumn of 2021.

 

I had a brief good news moment just now after reading that indoor performances could restart from tomorrow, checked the SW website, and got this bad news instead. 

 

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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6 minutes ago, FionaE said:

So I assume the govt announcement that theatres CAN reopen ... but only with socially distanced audiences .... has triggered insurance claims for all these cancellations.  😟

 

I think it's been obvious that, from what we have seen, it is not financially viable for theatres to open with such a reduced auditorium capacity.  I think the last time I saw someone from a theatre being interviewed on the news they said they needed 70% of capacity to have a hope of breaking even.

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FionaM

FionaM

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Interesting that BRB and ENB are more upbeat and agile about other types of performances.   Smaller teams, smaller locations etc.  
 

RB seems tied to lavish large productions only at ROH and is noticeable quiet about producing anything anywhere.  Whereas Dutch and German companies are at least trying to produce SD on stage performances streamed online.   
 

Very sad for the dancers and all creatives, backstage support etc 

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Guest oncnp

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22 minutes ago, FionaE said:

RB seems tied to lavish large productions only at ROH and is noticeable quiet about producing anything anywhere.  Whereas Dutch and German companies are at least trying to produce SD on stage performances streamed online.   

 

The Dutch and German companies also have different funding structures. As has been mentioned before, Germany at least is heavily supporting its arts. 

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capybara

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My guess is that the RB will be bound, by dint of being under the ROH umbrella, to come back with productions in the spring which will bring in the money -e.g. R&J, Swan Lake etc. Of course, if they are able to do this, all members of the company will get a chance to dance.........

I would hope that they could look NOW at some 'gala' style evenings or one-act/small-cast ballets for live-streaming but with a limited, distanced audience able to attend physically.

 

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Peony

Peony

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Whilst capacity may be lower I would have thought that it would be possible to increase prices by a fair amount as demand is far outstripping supply at the moment! Maybe the smaller venues are more viable running at a lower capacity, 70% would be a fairly good day at my local venues! I really hope that ENB and BRB can find opportunities, their positive attitude does inspire me to try and support them if possible. 

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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24 minutes ago, Peony said:

Whilst capacity may be lower I would have thought that it would be possible to increase prices by a fair amount as demand is far outstripping supply at the moment! Maybe the smaller venues are more viable running at a lower capacity, 70% would be a fairly good day at my local venues! I really hope that ENB and BRB can find opportunities, their positive attitude does inspire me to try and support them if possible. 

 

I'm sorry but tickets have been rising exponentially over the last couple of years outside of London!  If tickets prices rose "by a fair amount" I would be going to a lot fewer performances and I am sure others would feel the same.

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Peony

Peony

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I can only afford a couple of performances a year so I’m in the same boat. However, if it helps theatres survive I’d be fine with them catering to a richer clientele temporarily. If it would enable them to keep performing and pay the bills I’ve no problem with it personally, I’d be prepared to visit less and pay more as a short term measure. Better than staying closed indefinitely

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Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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27 minutes ago, Peony said:

I can only afford a couple of performances a year so I’m in the same boat. However, if it helps theatres survive I’d be fine with them catering to a richer clientele temporarily. If it would enable them to keep performing and pay the bills I’ve no problem with it personally, I’d be prepared to visit less and pay more as a short term measure. Better than staying closed indefinitely

 

Trouble is, I find, that price rises are never a short term measure!

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Peony

Peony

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Yes, very valid point! Unfortunately I don’t trust our government to put enough time and thought into negotiations to prevent it from happening either. If theatres remain shut and exhaust their savings, depend on government loans etc I would guess prices will also have to rise if and when they re-open though.In the larger theatres it may be an option to close the cheaper seats as viral transmission depends on total numbers of people in the venue, as well as how close you sit to somebody etc. Thus preserving a higher income, but not increasing prices per se. I would agree with you that safeguards are needed long term to protect theatre from becoming even more elitist, short term I’m worried that if we don’t have some sort of opening there won’t be any theatres left- both because of finances and also due to the deskilling of the artists. All a very sad situation

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Bruce Wall

Bruce Wall

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12 hours ago, Peony said:

Yes, very valid point! Unfortunately I don’t trust our government to put enough time and thought into negotiations to prevent it from happening either. If theatres remain shut and exhaust their savings, depend on government loans etc I would guess prices will also have to rise if and when they re-open though.In the larger theatres it may be an option to close the cheaper seats as viral transmission depends on total numbers of people in the venue, as well as how close you sit to somebody etc. Thus preserving a higher income, but not increasing prices per se. I would agree with you that safeguards are needed long term to protect theatre from becoming even more elitist, short term I’m worried that if we don’t have some sort of opening there won’t be any theatres left- both because of finances and also due to the deskilling of the artists. All a very sad situation

 

I may be wrong - and in a sense I hope I am - but I have a feeling that a virtual arm will now be mandatory for even small theatres with a hope of long term survival.  ACE has been/is making clear that 'digital outreach' is now mandatory in terms of core - albeit ever diminishing for the foreseeable future - support.   They note that this is going to be the new way of 'ensuring access' - and - in many instances - I can see how it will be easier for them (and us) to track.  Those of us without what David Cameron used to call 'the deepest pockets' may well be settling in front of yet more screens for some time to come I fear.  

 

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LinMM

LinMM

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I don’t know what’s the matter with me but I can’t look at any ballet on the screen at the mo! 
I did earlier on back in  April and May but haven’t looked at anything since. 
I don’t think I’ve come to terms yet with the reality of theatres I usually go to not opening now until 2021! So it’s like if I can’t see it for real then not at all!! 
And like Jeannette I’m now tiring of all the dance at home videos etc which were fun back in the Spring but now I don’t want to watch them any more either. 
Perhaps this is a temporary stage and come the Autumn I will be wanting to see at least a good cinema offering....now you can go again ....at least will be sort of similar to going to the theatre and so much more relaxing on a BIG screen!! Wearing a mask though will be tiresome but a necessary evil of current times. 

I think I’m screened out as have been doing ballet classes on zoom almost every day since April and it has been fun but all of the various groups I’ve been doing this with are getting a bit fed up now and want to be back in a studio....though this is going to be a long and tricky process because of social distancing requirements and many studios not exactly being that huge. 
Even here the general trend for the Arts to be last in line is evident. 
Here in Brighton we have lost our Saturday Ballet studio because it was a room ...a very nice one with windows etc ....in a gym and the Gym owners have decided to use that studio for extra gym equipment so that is now spread over two floors to help with social distancing for the gym goers but it does mean any of the other kinds of dance and yoga classes held in that studio are now cancelled “for the foreseeable future” 😢 



 

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Jeannette

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I was pondering whether or not to use my one remaining (long-ago purchased) round-trip Amtrak rail ticket to NYC...bought to see the Aug 23rd Sarasota Ballet matinee at the Joyce. The show was cancelled, of course. So I wondered if I should go to Manhattan for a few hours, just for old times sake.

 

I asked a friend who lives near Lincoln Center if anything worth visiting is open...maybe have a slice of my favorite Junior’s cheesecake? Shop in the Time-Warner Center mall?  Answer: no Juniors or anything else from my old haunts. The entire Lincoln Center plaza is roped off.  ZERO restaurants open, except for some with tables set-up for outdoor service (no Junior’s restaurants in NYC among them). No art museums open.  

Sigh.

I think I’ll be staying home, baking my own cheesecake and watching ballet DVDs. 😞

Edited by Jeannette
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MJW

MJW

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4 minutes ago, capybara said:

[In parenthesis..................... The ST is reporting that the new Chair of the ROH is David Ross, 55, who is a co-founder of CarPhone Warehouse. He succeeds Ian Taylor who resigned on the grounds of ill-health and who died in June.]

 

He is the new chair - it was announced in a supporters newsletter last month -  a brief extract (which I hope is allowed!)

 

"We are delighted to announce that David Ross has been appointed as the new Chair of Trustees of the Royal Opera House, succeeding the late Ian Taylor, who sadly passed away last month. The Board and the Executive Team would like to give particular thanks to Suzanne Heywood, Deputy Chair of our Board of Trustees, who has so ably led the organisation through the challenges of recent months as acting Chair of the Royal Opera House. During this time she has helped shape our response to the COVID crisis and our plans for the future.

David Ross is a UK-based entrepreneur and arts philanthropist with a strong commitment to embedding diversity and inclusion at the heart of the arts. In his time as Chair of the Board at the National Portrait Gallery, David made a significant and impactful contribution to reaching children and young people across the UK through meaningful and lasting education programmes."

 

No mention on the website, but there we are!

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