| Firstly, I hope that you are all well and that you and your families are remaining positive during this very difficult time. When we closed our doors at BLT in March we did not anticipate that the theatre would be ‘dark’ for so long and although we have kept busy with numerous virtual projects we are of course keen to perform in front of live audiences again as soon as it is safe to do so. We are uncertain when we will be able to proceed with our published season and welcome audiences back into the theatre without the need for social distancing measures. We are hoping that we will be able to open fully in the early months of 2021, but of course, our chief priority is the health and safety of our creative teams, volunteers and our audience members. So there is still a lot of uncertainty and at the moment we can’t give definitive dates or publish a revised programme. It is possible, however, that in the near future – as in the case of professional indoor theatres – that amateur theatres will be able to welcome audiences back for socially-distanced performances. At BLT we would be able to seat around 26 people in the Main House space, adhering to the 2-metre rule and there are certainly plays where the cast can remain socially-distanced throughout the performance. So our question to you is this: If we were to present a limited programme of socially-distanced plays and adhered to all the COVID 19 health and safety standards would you be interested in buying a ticket? An undertaking of this type would have a cost to the theatre as every public performance requires a licence and before we go down this route we need to be sure that we would, in fact, have an audience – albeit a very small one – and be able to break even at least. We have a substantial group of keen actors and creative teams who are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to rehearse again and present their work to an audience. We fully understand if you would prefer to wait until we have the all-clear to open our theatre to normal to full capacity audiences, but your response at this time would be so helpful as we make plans for the remainder of 2020. To that end, we have prepared a short survey which we would like you to fill out. Don’t worry, it’s not long-only five simple questions – and should only take you a couple of minutes. All you need to do is click the link below, answer a few questions and submit. Your thoughts will be so helpful in guiding our decision-making. |
| Thank you for your ongoing support. By all means, give me a call on 07984722308 or email me at armourgg19@gmail.com if you would like the opportunity to discuss the situation. Take care Pauline |