It’s October, the start of a new academic year, and already it feels like both 5 minutes and 5 years since most of us left Durham in March. There has been a world of difficulty, anxiety and breakdown since. The epidemic it seemed would only encompass a scary but temporary break now threatens our way of life for years and, residing within a country of universal healthcare, a free press and a relatively health economy, to varying degrees, we are the lucky ones.
Even so, all is by no means lost. Indeed, as this newsletter shows, DST members and indeed theatre as a whole have shown fantastic creativity, drive and community in adjusting to this new challenge and new world. In this newsletter, we both celebrate and commemorate: remembering the cancelled plans of this summer while exploring some of the brilliant things that have emerged, from questions of financial accessibility to theatre, the growth of Audio Drama and proofs of resilience within professional theatre. After all, the show must go on!
