Theatres, cinemas and similar performance spaces across NSW will be officially allowed to reopen to the public from July 1, but certain stipulations put in place to make them safer could mean many venues will choose to remain closed. Much like the rules governing eateries and bars, theatres and cinemas will need to allot four square metres per patron, as well as ensuring they remain 1.5 metres apart at all times to accommodate physical distancing rules.
This is especially problematic for smaller theatres, which accrue significant overheads whenever they stage a production and therefore rely heavily on ticket sales to meet costs. With box office takings so drastically slashed – in many instances, occupancy could be reduced to just a third of maximum capacity – the financial repercussions could make producing a theatre production prohibitively expensive for many small to medium arts companies. This economically bleak situation is further exacerbated by the fact that Australia Council funds, which many of the state’s theatre, dance and opera companies rely upon, has shrunk significantly, with funds previously earmarked in the federal budget for the arts portfolio redirected to support other emergency bailout programs in recent months.
The current artistic director of the Sydney Festival, Wesley Enoch, told Time Out that merely giving venues permission to reopen will not be enough to resuscitate the state’s arts sector. “The question here is, how can Australia’s performing arts rebuild as we gradually emerge from this crisis? Well, we've been here for centuries – we're not going away. But it's how we emerge, and what seems to be occurring is a statement of values, especially from our policymakers. They value the large organisations – the ones that have large conservative audiences seem to be very important. And unfortunately, those audiences are [skewed older], so they may not be the patrons who ever want to come back to a theatre or a concert hall anyway,” Enoch suggests.
The outlook is more hopeful for cinemas, which have fewer operating costs compared to theatres staging live performances. However, one major hurdle facing the cinema industry is the availability of new films to screen. Australia’s suppression of the virus is currently far ahead of many countries around the world, including major English-speaking film markets in the US and UK. Several major blockbuster releases have already been delayed this year, including the global premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which had initially been slated for release on July 16 but will now be released on July 31. Australia’s National Association of Cinema Operators had hoped the film would be the first international movie to screen once cinemas reopened in Australia.