Covid-19

A London theatre is raising money to pay a £120,000 bill from rent arrears built up during the pandemic.

Sasha Regan, founder and director of the Union Theatre in Southwark, said she was struggling to pay the bill, which is for the period the venue was closed during the pandemic, alongside other outgoings which have gone up amid the cost of living crisis.

"That sort of amount of money, it's just not viable to add that on to our outgoings with the electricity, which is astronomical, and the rent that we're paying now," Regan, who set up the theatre 25 years ago, told the BBC.

Her daughter Nellie Regan, who is a performer, has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money.

A spokesperson for the landlord said: "We're in conversation with Union Theatre to explore a solution to address their situation.

"Wherever possible we work to retain longstanding customers in our spaces."

Latest data from The Audience Agency (TAA) suggests a “long shadow” from the Covid pandemic is still affecting the sector.

The charity published its findings from its Cultural Participation Monitor on Tuesday (28 March), which found that more than a quarter of the population are attending arts and culture less than before the pandemic.

More than a third (37%) said they were attending less, compared with 12% who said they were attending more. These results were largely in line with those from a year ago, when 31% said they were attending less, compared with 12% more.

TAA says the pandemic has “receded as a perceived risk,” but added that it “remains a key factor for between a fifth and a quarter of people across a range of measures”.

Those attending cultural destinations less appear most influenced by the cost-of-living crisis, with 56% stating that their reduced attendance was because of money.

Elsewhere, TAA’s findings suggest that venues are reporting higher levels of late bookings – with 41% of audience members saying they tend to book last minute.

People are also planning to donate less, with 50% of those who currently donate to cultural organisations saying they plan to donate less across the next year.

TAA Chief Executive Anne Torreggiani says the new evidence confirms arts and cultural organisations are suffering a “double whammy” right now.

“Trying to navigate these complex reasons for income being down is very challenging for organisations,” she said.

“Developing a really deep understanding of your audience is going to make a big difference because what's working for a peer organisation in a different place with a different audience won’t necessarily work in your community.”

Campaigners in Swindon calling for a museum to reopen held a tea party earlier this week to mark three years since its closure.

Swindon’s Museum and Art Gallery has been closed since March 2020, when the first Covid-19 lockdown measures were announced.

Since then, Swindon Borough Council has agreed to sell the museum’s former venue, Apsley House, to a property developer.

The museum was supposed to be rehoused in a new building, but Councillor Matty Courtliff said that inflation had increased contractors’ estimates, leading to a funding shortfall.

Linda Casmaty, Chair of the Friends of Swindon Museum, told the BBC that she was “disappointed and frustrated” by the situation.

“It's not fair on the people of Swindon – it has been identified as an area of low cultural engagement,” she said. “It could be 10 to 15 years before a new museum is built.”

Instead of funding a new building for the museum, Courtliff said the council was looking into installing the museum and art exhibits on the first floor of the town’s Civic Offices, but no timeline has been provided to local residents. 

Campaigners said that the town, which has a population of more than 220,000 people, currently has no art gallery and nowhere to display its art collection.

“You need to be able to see art, it's no use looking at it in a book,” Casmaty said. “We could get so many visitors if they would open this.

“I'm very keen that Swindon could become a tourist destination and this is one of the things we need.”

Over 500,000 music performance grades assessed by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) have been completed remotely since the board launched online examinations two and a half years ago.

The online music assessment, which was introduced during the pandemic to meet demand from music learners unable to take traditional face-to-face exams, is assessed entirely digitally via video recordings.

Since its launch, ABRSM examiners have assessed more than 8m minutes of videoed submissions performed on 42 different instruments, with Grade 5 piano being the most popular online exam.

Students from 82 countries have completed this method of music examination.

ABRSM’s Deputy Chief Executive Penny Milsom said while face-to-face exam bookings continue to “build strongly” following the pandemic, appetite for online music assessment remains.

“It is fantastic that teachers and learners are taking advantage of the choice now available between digital and face-to-face, and practical and performance grades,” she said.

“Many candidates benefit from recording their exam in familiar surroundings. We also know that these exams work well for adult learners who are either returning to exams or learning for the first time.”

Welsh National Opera (WNO) is expanding its successful Long Covid patient support programme across six health boards in Wales.

The Wellness with WNO programme was initially launched in November 2021 as a rehabilitation service for patients referred to NHS Long Covid services.

Delivered via Zoom, sessions share the techniques and strategies of opera singers in order to help with breath control, lung function, circulation and posture.

The programme also focuses on emotional wellbeing and the joy of singing.

More than 100 participants have completed the six-week programme so far.

WNO Producer April Heade said that the company was delighted to be able to expand the reach of the programme across the country “to improve the health and wellbeing of as many people as we can as part of their overall treatment”.

Heade added: “We have seen first hand the enormously positive impact these sessions have had on participants who have attended so far.”

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: “It has been heartening to see the success of the Wellness with WNO project and the significant benefits it has provided for people’s health and wellbeing."