The British theatre industry is on the brink of collapse because of the coronavirus crisis, according to West End producer Sonia Friedman.
Warning the public of the threat faced by theatres in a column with The Telegraph on Thursday, the Harry Potter And The Cursed Child producer, 55, claimed 70 per cent of companies would be out of business by the end of the year.
Choosing not to mince her words, Sonia explained: ‘British theatre is on the brink of total collapse. All the performing arts – theatre, dance, opera, comedy, theatre in education, Christmas pantomime, community shows – are facing the real possibility of complete obliteration.’
Huge loss: West End producer Sonia Friedman warned on Thursday that British theatre is ‘on the brink of collapse’ due to the COVID-19 crisis (pictured Harry Potter And The Cursed Child)
‘Without an urgent government rescue package, 70 per cent of our performing arts companies will be out of business before the end of this year.
‘More than 1,000 theatres around the country will be insolvent and might shut down for good. The loss is inconceivable.’
Adding that time is of the essence, she warned that theatres could begin to shut their doors forever and enter administration one after the other within the next six months if there was no aid given to them.
Describing her own experience during the global pandemic, Sonia revealed she had 18 productions suspended across the globe and her company has been shut down.
Dire situation: Sonia explained that ‘without an urgent government rescue package, 70 per cent of our performing arts companies will be out of business’ (pictured Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
She explained that theatres’ sole source of revenue comes from the box office, and their services cannot be given online like other companies so they are completely out of pocket.
Adding that it costs £30,000 a week to keep a theatre in the West End closed and has meant the National Theatre is losing millions every month, she said it was an ‘unsustainable’ for the industry to survive.
Playhouses like the Old Vic have asked the public if they could consider donating to the theatre, or even purchasing a membership so that they can survive the coronavirus crisis.
Warning: Saying time is of the essence, she claimed theatres could begin to shut their doors forever and enter administration one after the other if help wasn’t given (pictured: West End)
In a statement sent to theatregoers, the Old Vic’s executive director Kate Varah said: ‘We are no stranger to adversity, and we are determined to weather this storm – but we need your help to do it.
‘As you may know, we’re unlike many other theatres in that we are a charity receiving no regular Arts Council funding or subsidy.
‘We have to make sure our 1,000 seats are filled each performance and on top of that raise an additional £4 million to keep making theatre and serving our community.
‘If you could consider making a donation or purchasing a membership we would be so grateful.’
Request: The Old Vic has asked the public to consider donating to the theatre or purchasing a membership so they can survive (pictured Daniel Radcliffe and Alan Cumming in Endgame)
To help the industry during this difficult time, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber introduced a new initiative called The Shows Must Go On, which gives the public access to a recorded performance of one of his plays on YouTube for 24 to 48 hours.
Money donated by viewers go directly to The Actors Fund to help those from the performing arts industry who have been impacted by crisis.
The YouTube channel’s broadcast of the 25th Anniversary of the Phantom Of The Opera, which was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011, raised over $400,000 for the charity in just 48 hours, for example.
Helping: Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber made The Shows Must Go On for The Actors Fund, and the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Of The Opera (pictured) raised over $400,000 in 48 hours
Following in their footsteps, the National Theatre has also provided the public access to productions on YouTube as part of their National Theatre at Home channel to raise money for the playhouse.
Available for one week, they have provided access to plays such as Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller in alternating roles, and Anthony and Cleopatra starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo.
Future productions include the Donmar Warehouse’s Coriolanus starring Tom Hiddleston from 2013, and the Young Vic’s 2014 production of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Gillian Anderson.
As well as helping raise money for the NHS, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s recording of the Fleabag stage play is also raising money for Broadway Cares which will help to support theatre staff from all sectors in the US.
Fleabag fans can stream the one-woman performance on Soho Theatre’s On Demand in the UK and Ireland for the price of £4.
While it is available in America on Amazon Prime Video as well as Canada and New Zealand for $5.
Donate: The National Theatre also provided the public access to productions to raise money, including Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller (pictured)