THE shadow cast by a national tragedy of the magnitude of the Covid-19 pandemic touches every aspect of community life.

Since 16th March, theatres, concert halls, arts centres and cinemas have remained firmly shut. Events as far ahead as August are now being cancelled, and that is just the beginning. Five weeks into lockdown and with no return to any semblance of normality in sight, the outlook is increasingly gloom laden.

The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) embraces the West End and many regional theatres. SOLT has issued a dire warning that cash reserves will soon dry up. Add to this the 500 small live music venues across the country facing permanent closure and the ominous signs point towards shrinking post-coronavirus arts and entertainment sectors.

The challenges facing cherished local halls and theatres in our own region reflects the bleak national picture. Harrogate Theatre lost £100K in box office revenue in the last four weeks alone and has now launched a public appeal to help it stay afloat. Just three days into lockdown, the Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax was forced into administration. Many similar venues depend on ticket sales for as much as 90% of their income. Ticket holders are being asked to consider making a donation or to credit the amount to a future performance.

Leeds Lieder Festival and Harrogate International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival are just two prominent events now facing a fight for survival.

Opera North and Leeds Playhouse have postponed their co-production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Leeds Town Hall has cancelled twenty classical concerts and much else since mid-March. Similarly, Leeds Arena, the Grand Theatre and City Varieties have cancelled performances to the end of June. Fortunately, the Grand has been able to re-schedule award winning musical The Book of Mormon for spring 2021.

Bradford’s St George’s Hall had been steadily rebuilding audiences after a three year long refurbishment project. The Alhambra should have been hosting a lucrative run of The Lion King musical through May and June, but has been forced to postpone the production until spring 2022. Ilkley’s King’s Hall has likewise postponed or cancelled all performances for the next two months.

The crisis facing community orchestras, choral societies and theatre groups is just as acute. Rehearsals have been shelved until September in the hope that social distancing rules will have been relaxed by then. In the meantime, everything is in a weird kind of suspended animation.

Health is the No 1 issue right now, but our delicate arts ecology needs protection if it is to boost morale and a sense of well-being for the “bounce back” from this emergency.

by Geoffrey Mogridge