Covid-19 Latest – Sunday 15 March
Round up of Edinburgh theatres’ responses
NB: Latest update here: Kings, Festival & Studio dark.
Edinburgh’s theatres have continued with their scheduled performances over the weekend and have announced their intentions to continue with their planned programmes for the immediate future.
All are waiting on the Scottish Government fleshing out their request to limit public gatherings of over 500 people which is scheduled to happen some time on Monday 16 March 2020, following an update today, Sunday 15 March.
With a maximum capacity of 270, the Traverse is unlikely to be affected by a ban on gatherings of over 500 people. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
Some theatres point out that the reason for over-500 requirement is to free up emergency personnel – who are not required to attend theatres in the same way they attend other events such as football matches, for example, so is not necessarily going to apply to theatres.
However, the Scottish Government’s advice issued today “advises that organisers should cancel or postpone all mass events of 500 people or more – indoors or outdoors”. This would include the Lyceum, King’s, Festival and Playhouse.
The advice applies to: “mass events across all sectors – including sporting events, cultural events, and religious gatherings”, but is aimed purely at relieving pressure on public services and “is not expected to have a significant impact on the spread of Covid-19, and this is not its purpose”.
The Glasgow Pavilion has already cancelled or postponed all of its March and April performances following the issuing of this advice.
Also, at least four theatres around the UK – the Byre in St Andrews and the Arcola, Old Vic and the Turbine in London – have announced that they are suspending performances. So the likelihood is increasing that at least some Edinburgh theatres will follow suit and cancel their programmes in addition to individual touring productions.
Here we set out the official responses to the Covid-19 pandemic from Edinburgh’s main theatres as of Sunday 15 March – including, where available, their attitude to refunds.
We will run an update tomorrow, Monday 16 March, as events develop.
Assembly Roxy
Link: www.assemblyfestival.com.
At this point in time we are operating all scheduled events as planned but will continue to monitor the situation in accordance with guidance from Health Protection Scotland and the UK Government.
As per our year-round policy, if you have purchased tickets for an event that is postponed or cancelled you have the option to attend the rescheduled performance or receive a refund.
If you are unable to attend any schedule performances, we will take refund queries on a case-by-case basis and will endeavour to support any customers who are self-isolating.
The Brunton
Link: @TheBrunton. Website: www.thebrunton.co.uk
The Brunton has been monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19 and continues to implement precautionary measures.
The Brunton’s performance schedule is continuing to be presented in line with current official guidance.
The safety and health of our staff and visitors continues to be our number one priority. We will update our customers as and when we receive further official guidance and will act accordingly. Thank you for your patience at this time.
Capital Theatres
King’s Theatre/Festival Theatre/The Studio
Link: www.capitaltheatres.com
Capital Theatres has been closely monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19 and have already issued advice to staff and have implemented precautionary measures.
Today (12/3/2020) Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced in the Scottish Parliament that mass gatherings of over 500 are to be restricted to free up emergency services, including police and ambulance crews, to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. She subsequently announced that final guidance as to how this will be implemented and what specifically constitutes a mass gathering will be issued on Monday (16/3/2020). Capital Theatres continues to operate as usual until this official guidance has been published and at which point, we will act appropriately on the government’s advice.
The safety and health of our staff and visitors continues to be our number one priority. We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding.
Lyceum
Link: https://lyceum.org.uk
Concerning refunds, the Lyceum told Æ: “refunds will be issued should any performances be cancelled, otherwise, for those self-isolating, we’ll endeavour to move folk to another performance.”
The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh has been closely monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19. The health of our staff and visitors is our number one priority so we are closely following government advice and implementing all advised hygiene measures.
Yesterday (12/3/2020) Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced in the Scottish Parliament that mass gatherings of over 500 are to be restricted to free up emergency services, including police and ambulance crews, to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. She subsequently announced that final guidance as to how this will be implemented and what specifically constitutes a mass gathering will be issued on Monday (16/3/2020). The Lyceum continues to operate as usual until this official guidance has been published at which point, we will act appropriately on the government’s advice.
Should new advice for government result in changes to our service, we will notify our audiences by posting messages on our website and social media channels as well as contacting any ticket holders directly affected via e-mail. We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding at this time.
Playhouse
Link: www.atgtickets.com
We are happy to confirm that following advice from the Scottish government, ATG’s venues in Scotland will continue to operate as usual and be open to all customers in line with current medical health recommendations. It is our understanding that as our venues do not require the attendance of emergency services all of the performances scheduled at the Edinburgh Playhouse and the Glasgow Theatre Royal and King’s can continue as normal.
At Ambassador Theatre Group we have been closely monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 situation. We have been working with Scottish and UK governments and medical authorities, and putting in place precautionary measures across all our UK venues.
Please check back regularly as we will post any further updates or changes in advice here
If you are feeling unwell, or have been asked to self-isolate by the NHS, please complete the form here to request a ticket exchange to a new performance.
The Traverse
Link: @traversetheatre Website: www.traverse.co.uk.
All of our performances this weekend will go ahead as planned. We’re monitoring things closely, following government recommendations and taking additional steps to keep our audiences and staff safe.
Thanks for your continued support and enjoy the shows!
ENDS
