The culture secretary says he’ll save theatre from death by coronavirus. How?

Will it survive the economic downturn? It is certainly in a real mess. Plenty of actors are out of work, warns Charlotte Cripps

Actor David Tennant has expressed his concerns about the future of British arts and culture (Getty)

David Tennant says UK theatres are “teetering” close to collapse and has warned that the UK government will need to intervene for British theatre to survive the coronavirus pandemic. “You’re asking people to pay a lot of money to potentially have someone coughing into their packet of boiled sweets and infecting them,” he said in a Radio Times interview.

Tennant is doing his bit to help the industry. He will star with Claire Foy this month in London’s first socially-distanced play to help save the Old Vic from “seriously perilous” finances.

The hit Lungs which they appeared in together last year was meant to make its New York transfer, but will now be livestreamed from an empty Old Vic auditorium from 26 June to 4 July. The audience will be limited to the 1,000 seats of a regular performance and will pay standard ticket prices (£10-£65). While all “seats” offer the same view, the Old Vic is asking audiences to give what they can “to help support” them.

It is a sad time for the theatre. Unlike the better-funded film industry that has been streaming blockbusters online and is starting to open cinemas with its first release of Tenet on 17 June, the West End and regional theatres across the UK have come to a total standstill for the foreseeable future.

Will it survive the economic downturn? It is certainly in a real mess. Plenty of actors are out of work. The reality of this was captured in this week’s brand new BBC lockdown comedy series Staged starring Tennant and Michael Sheen, about a group of furloughed theatre actors.

It might offer light relief ­as they try to rehearse remotely for their West End play via zoom after the show is put on hold due to Covid-19 – but it also highlights the reality of the situation. What if theatres can’t open soon?

The government must act now to save the theatre industry from collapse. The culture secretary Oliver Dowden said that he was “not going to stand by and see our world-leading position in arts and culture destroyed”. But as director Sam Mendes said last week, “The performing arts need to be saved now. Not next week, or next month.” He’s right, as is Armando Iannuci – the producer, director, and writer of hits shows such as The Thick Of It, Veep and Avenue 5 – who says the arts sector is “a fundamental part of the economy” and protecting the arts should not be seen as “some kind of charitable” act.

They better call an ambulance soon – or else the theatre industry may never recover. As Mendes says: “If it stops breathing, it cannot be resuscitated.”

Yours,

Charlotte Cripps

Culture writer