|
 Actors Rosalie Craig and Hadley
Fraser were due to appear in a production of the
musical "City of Angels" at the Garrick, one of
many theaters in London's West End district,
when the government shut down entertainment
venues on March 16.
Since then, like thousands of actors, directors,
musicians, sound and light technicians, make-up
artists and people from all the professions that
make London one of the world's most vibrant
performing arts centers, they have had no
theatrical work.
"We were very, very proud of the piece," said
Craig in an interview in the garden of the home
she shares with Fraser, her husband. "We got it
to a point where we were so excited for people
to see it."
The giant billboard advertising the show is
still up on the darkened theatre's facade, but
no one knows when or even if it will finally
open.
Fraser said that as actors, the couple were used
to fallow periods when they were out of work or
in between jobs, but at least there would be
auditions going on, future productions in the
pipeline, the hope that something would happen
soon.
The current limbo, he said, was completely
different, and it was very hard to come to terms
with the uncertainty.
For Rebecca Kane Burton, chief executive of LW
Theatres group which owns seven West End venues,
the abrupt loss of income is a huge headache,
but she also worries about people and
productions that might be lost to the London
stage for good.
"Performers want to be on stage performing and
doing what they do best, and I would hate to
think we might lose some of those amazing
performers," she said in a video-conference
interview.
"The reality is some of them are stacking
shelves at Tesco's (supermarket) at the moment,"
she said.
[to top of second column]
|
 LOST TALENT
The fallout from the lockdown will be felt far
beyond the West End, said Matthew Warchus,
artistic director of the Old Vic theater,
because of the web of connections between
theater, television and film.
"Writers and performers, choreographers,
directors, designers - many of them start off in
theater," he said, adding that many were
freelancers who were not benefitting from a
government furlough scheme.
"What's going to happen to them? They're not
able to work now. How will they sustain a career
going forward when they have been hit in this
way? So this is going to be a major depletion
and knockback for all of those platforms."
Craig and Fraser, who have already built up
successful careers, remain hopeful that they
will be back on stage at some point, although
life could look very different in future.
"We'll probably end up doing other jobs and
coming back to the theater as well," said
Fraser. "I'm imagining that's what's going to
happen."
Craig said she still hoped "City of Angels"
would go ahead, although she did not think it
would be anytime soon.
"When it does come back, wow," she said. "I
can't imagine what that will feel like for
everybody."
 "We will probably all die of the adrenaline,"
she added, laughing.
(Writing by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen
Addison)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
