2020 NEWS

2020 will be the year we shall all not forget. Firstly we must sympathise with the dancers, singers, actors, musicians and all those working in the theatre whose lives and careers will have been seriously damaged and even ruined by the events which overcame us so unexpectedly. We had to think of the 35 years our companies existed, with thousands of performances and continual international travel when such a disaster was unthinkable. We would never have survived. Perhaps struggling with Maggie Thatcher’s cuts to theatres and councils and year-long strikes was the nearest we came.

We spent the first half of 2020 in Australia- initially a two-month holiday idyllically situated on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. We caught up with friends and family and relished the easy-going life=style. However, when we planned to leave at the end of March, the borders were closed, the flights cancelled and we were ‘imprisoned’ for another four months. Of course, it was probably easier than the very strict Lockdown in Europe, but an unpleasant experience all the same.

Now, we must look forward to 2021 with hope, if some trepidation, but noticing that the theatre world is forcing its way back with new ideas of creating and performing under different circumstances and conditions. We wish them luck and ‘bon courage’ in all they do.