by Saoirse Anton

Last month, I wrote of the good news that we were soon to see the reopening of venues, and resumption of at least near-normal theatre activity. Of course, in the intervening time we have seen the rise of the Delta variant, and the postponement of advances in reopening. All is not lost, performances with limited audience numbers, gallery visits, and some other cultural activity is allowed, but as with other setbacks over the past year, these are only small comforts to those who have had to cancel and postpone events, workshops, productions and other work.

Standing on the cusp of another wave of the virus, it can feel a little like this is never going to end. We’ve had so many forwards and backwards steps, we are caught in a disheartening dance that has lasted for the past 16 months. But though it feels interminable, we will eventually find our way through to the other side of this pandemic.

Looking through the archives of The Stage newspaper recently, I was struck by a couple of clippings. One, an article from 2001, was headlined “West-End Sales Hit by Foot-and-Mouth” and the other was a letter to the editor from 1927, entitled “Theatres Safer than Offices During Flu Pandemic.” When we look through theatre’s history we see myriad examples of the industry being struck by closures and losses due to crises like Covid-19. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, numerous outbreaks of Plague closed theatres over and over again, for months at a time, and where Shakespeare turned to writing poetry, many theatremakers today have turned to creating work for Zoom and other online platforms.

I’m sure we have all had the experience of watching a production or film we didn’t enjoy, where every time you thought you were reaching the final curtain, another scene began and you felt you would never escape. And I’m sure that as neverending as it felt, it did come to an end eventually. Whether you focused on the one element of the design that you liked, on the promise of lively discussion with a friend afterwards, or maybe just on the bar of chocolate in your handbag that you would eat on the bus home, something got you through.

Now, as we navigate this awkward breach between lockdown and resumption of normal service, find the things that get you through. It might be going to an outdoor production, like those at The New Theatre’s aptly-named Push Forward Festival, or if you’re not ready to return to audiences, it might just be perfecting your tree-pose or that banana bread recipe you downloaded months ago. As Shakespeare, who was all too familiar with the state we find ourselves in now, wrote in Richard III, “"True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings. Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings." Write your sonnets, rewatch The Office, sort your sock drawer – just find that bar of chocolate in your handbag that will help you hold fast through this.