When Is A House Not A Home?
A recent article written by West End producer Sonia Friedman (here) has rattled a few cages. In it, she speaks passionately about a need for “an urgent government rescue package” in order to save a large number of UK performing arts companies.
Things are pretty dire. To date, the Nuffield Southampton Theatres have been placed into administration and Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre has gone into liquidation. That’s the scary end of this precarious line. In the meantime, theatres up and down the country are spending (and therefore, losing) money, keeping themselves closed. Then, there’s the simple fact that they have absolutely no income. No ticket sales. No income. It’s a sinking ship.
This is not unknown information. It’s horrible and stinks and it is like watching a car crash in slow motion. But the above is a preamble to the question which is the title of our blog – when is a house not a home?
At the end of her article, Ms Friedman writes:
“Once gone, British theatre is lost for good. An ecosystem as intricate and evolved as ours, shaped over 70 years, is beyond price. It cannot be rebuilt from scratch. As of now, without support, it is in grave danger.”
We (Devilishly + Grand) are understanding this to mean that if the buildings go (because keeping them going is financially unviable) then the creatives and their creativity will cease. Um. Will it? Is it all over if we don’t have the buildings in which to perform? If the venue isn’t there, does the art disappear?
We (Devilishly + Grand) agree that the performing arts are about communication, communion and human connection (on stage, to the audience and back again). So - here’s a question:
Do these performing arts disappear without that human connection? Without those living, breathing bodies in front of us, responding to our every thought, decision, emotion?
Another question:
Can we still connect without the bodies in front of us? (Can we trust sending our love and care into cyberspace?) Do we need more than the likes, thumbs up and hearts to truly indicate that some sort of communication and communion has happened?
We are used to performing in venues – houses - with four walls and a roof. Us on stage (with a behind-the-scenes that allows us to do what we do) and you in front, ready and waiting to receive. But “used to” does not mean carved in stone. Social distancing is here and will be with us for some time. We know that a significant number of artistic forms will not be sustainable within a traditional framework of “theatre”. And while this presents huge, practical difficulties (understatement), here’s a thing – creativity is still happening. All around us. Look at EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM. We’re still sending out the love. We’re still doing what we do.
We put to you that this is an opportunity to experiment with a new way of delivering performing arts. We put to you that this is an opportunity to experiment with new ways of reaching, communicating and sharing with an audience. Maybe not have “tradition” as a convenient fall back. Maybe seize the opportunity to approach and embrace the unknown, with tried and tested skills, commitment and passion.
A house is what you live in, but a home is what you create. We may lose our house, but we haven’t stopped making a home.
