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Tanika Gupta offers a vision for the future of theatre, as she shares her experience of returning to in person rehearsals.

On the first day of rehearsals for Out West at the Lyric Hammersmith in May, myself and fellow playwrights Roy Williams and Simon Stephens stood, masked up and lateral flow tested for Covid, and listened as the Lyric Hammersmith's artistic director Rachel O’Riordan welcomed us at the traditional theatrical “meet and greet".

As I looked around the room at the producers, stage managers, sound, lighting, costume and set designers, and the communication and theatre staff, I was struck by the enormity of the moment. I’d missed this so much - for over a year! Rachel talked about how important it was that we were all back making theatre, given the length of time during which many of us thought we’d never find ourselves again in a rehearsal room.

I’m not a gushy type, but I must admit that this brought a lump to my throat... Keep reading on The Arts Desk.