7 minute read
Curtain up
Thanks to the government giving the green light to some theatres partially reopening - for now - we talk to our local culture hubs to find out how they are ensuring that their shows will still go on…
Over the past month or so many of our treasured theatres have revealed how they are now able to reopen safely after being locked down in March.
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At the time of going to press, the likes of the Assembly Hall, Trinity and EM Forster theatres are still able to forge ahead welcoming back visitors – albeit on a smaller scale.
Each one is adopting all the necessary safety and social distancing measures needed so they can once again start hosting performances, concerts and screenings for all the family.
SO magazine discovers how each one has been able to reopen and finds out what’s coming up over the next few months . . .
TRINITY THEATRE
Elizabeth Mahoney, Marketing & Communications Director says: “COVID has taken its toll on Tunbridge Wells’ Cultural community, but somehow at Trinity with only a small band of non-furloughed staff and a handful of volunteers, we managed to keep artistic and social events going this summer - in our stunning kitchen and bar gardens.
We do have a deeper connection to the community, one that reaches far beyond that of the traditional local theatre and the support in attendance has been reassuring. We are, like others, locked into the capacity battle, with only 71-100 seats available for each event for our recently released ‘Autumn Season’, we hope for ‘SOLD OUT’ signs across our programme! We are ahead of the government in our Covid care and social distancing protocols - we really have created a ‘safe haven’ for our community. We have curated a brilliant autumn line-up, with cinema and event cinema leading the pack for serious cinephiles and family film fanatics alike. The new list of events includes movie classics, such as Withnail & I and the visually rich, wonderfully romantic French favourite Amélie, perfect for a prosecco night out with friends. October half-term has never looked more fun with Spooky Saturday promising to tick the family fun box. Our creativity doesn’t stop there; the evening promises to deliver for Halloween households that are that little bit older with a night geared towards musical mayhem that encourages some fancy dress — The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be shown “We have a deeper connection to the community, one that reaches far beyond that of the traditional local theatre”
Elizabeth Mahoney – Trinity Theatre –
at 9.30pm on Saturday 31st October. “Our team want to Theatre and the increasingly popular ‘Salon Series’ make a get back to what they were doing welcome return, with before and that’s Andrew Graham Dixon featuring twice over the next two creating, delivering and producing months (see page 17 brilliant shows” for more). I also can reveal there are JJ Almond rumours of other – Assembly Hall –broadcasters and global adventurers keen to visit this gem of a community venue with their interviews and talks.
Opera will also be staged in our auditorium following, a sold-out Opera Through The Ages afternoon Tea last month. December will be incredible; with plans underway for a Winter Festival with events both inside and out. Get ready for our Enchanted Garden...we want to bring well-deserved levels of joy to Tunbridge Wells this Christmas!”
ASSEMBLY HALL THEATRE
JJ Almond, creative director says: “We spent a lot of lockdown looking at options and seeing what contribution the Assembly Hall makes to the community, its core value and the pride it gives the town.
We are not just an independent theatre, we are in fact part of a bigger picture because we are effectively a department in the council. And because of that we realised we were able to apply for a local government support scheme which compensates us for loss of income in certain areas.
This grant is a key support for us and means that we can open again and thankfully has helped protect jobs.
There have been no job losses whatsoever. We have protected everyone’s, and we are currently in the process of organising a phased return to work with the majority of our staff back to work by the end of this month.
Our team want to get back to what they were doing before and that’s creating, delivering and producing brilliant shows. When the news was announced last month that we would be reopening there were lots of tears of happiness about it. They are so eager to get back to work.
The good news is there will be a panto this year and although it won’t be the big, all singing, all dancing sparkling show we usually have, I’m pleased to tell you that there will still be a pop-up style panto – Jack and the Beanstalk - for people to enjoy in a safe and socially distanced manner.
Reopening later this month on October 17 we have a debut from The Comedy Store, to look forward to. They will be doing an exciting monthly residency. Other acts to grace the autumn/winter bill include comedian Omid Djalili who will play two nights on October 24 and November 25. We’ll also have a show from Strictly stars Kevin and Joanne Clifton and the English Touring Opera will also visit on a regular basis to present often unperformed and small works.
Our popular community groups such as the Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra and TWODS drama troupe will be appearing again too – even if they are just smaller performances for the time being. Their audiences have really missed them and they are a massive part of our community.”
EM FORSTER THEATRE
Kat Portman-Smith, theatre manager says: “Throughout lockdown we’ve been preparing for how the theatre could open with measures in place so as soon as the government announced in July that we could host outdoor theatre we were good to go. In August the announcement came that we could have live performances with social distancing in place which allowed us to plan for opening fully last month.
We are in a very fortunate position that as the theatre is also Tonbridge School’s Drama Department the building is open. And the school is very keen for the community to have access to the theatre in a safe and controlled way.
The rest of my team were furloughed until August, but during lockdown my role changed from theatre manager to working on the school’s community outreach work, which included helping to set up the NHS Treatment Centre at the school and working with community contacts to get PPE out to them.
The first show we hosted post lockdown was local youth group The Talentz. They should have performed their musical ‘Joseph’ at Easter but we moved it outdoors at the end of August. Debbie King, who runs The Talentz and I worked closely together to ensure that both the cast, staff and audience would be kept safe. This involved lots of risk assessments, measuring of two metres and plenty of hand sanitiser!
Kat Portman-Smith – EM Forster Theatre –
It was also great to have The Handlebards back doing their version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet this summer.
Our hope with the £5 film screenings we’ve been running last month and during October is that people will make the step to come back and will feel safe here to book more events. So far we have screened The Personal History of David Copperfield and 1917, and later this month we welcome Sophie-Louise Dann with her show ‘May I Have a Moment?’ (October 24) and The Fizz, a concert featuring some of the former members of Bucks Fizz (October 17).
We are also very pleased to announce that we will be hosting a special panto this year with Wicked Productions. Entitled Robin Hood and his Socially Distanced Merry Men it will run from December 18 to January 3.
We’ve had to make some changes to make it safe and viable, but it has opened up some hilarious comedy opportunities especially when it comes to the love interest! We’re fortunate that we have the support of Tonbridge School but we still need to sell enough tickets to be financially viable. If you’ve been thinking of supporting a local venue now is the time to look at what’s on and see if we can tempt you back inside.”
TUNBRIDGE WELLS’ iconic music venue The Forum has teamed up with the Assembly Hall to put on some live performances (see pgs 6-7).
The club announced last month that it is to remain closed for the rest of 2020 due to Covid restrictions but it will be presenting local and national music talent with ‘The Forum Nights’ at the Assembly Hall theatre on most Thursday evenings.
The night will see a number of bands play at the theatre who would normally be on stage at The Forum and they include Lady Bird & friends, Mike Wilton & Suncharmer and Infared.
To further support the town’s much loved music hot spot you can also purchase their latest fundraising merchandise which includes hoodies and caps from www.twforum.co.uk
