London theatres have been closed since March, but are due to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place. EPA
London theatres have been closed since March, but are due to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place. EPA
London theatres have been closed since March, but are due to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place. EPA
London theatres have been closed since March, but are due to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place. EPA

England's theatres to reopen in August with social distancing measures in place


Farah Andrews
  • English
  • Arabic

Theatres in England can reopen for socially distanced indoor performances from August 1, it was announced yesterday.

Ahead of that date, the government is working on pilot openings to establish guidelines for venues before they welcome guests back.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an announcement: "From August 1, we will restart live indoor performances to a live audience, subject to the success of pilots, and we will pilot larger gatherings with a view to a wider reopening in the autumn."

Oliver Dowden, the UK's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, tweeted that he was "pleased to make progress to Stage 4 of our road map for culture".

Theatres in London’s West End closed on March 16 “until further notice”, as part of a move to limit the spread of the coronavirus. There have since been fears for the future of performances, as the closure lasted much longer than anticipated.

Dame Judi Dench has spoken about the future of London's West End. Wenn
Dame Judi Dench has spoken about the future of London's West End. Wenn

In June, actress Dame Judi Dench told Channel 4 News that she didn't think London's West End was "going to recover" without government help.

“It’s a desperate feeling, and when will they ever open again?” she said. "I don’t know, certainly, I’m sure not in my lifetime.

"I’m not saying that it should be more prioritised than anything else, but it just is going to be very serious. It’s a very serious effect on all of us. If the theatres now close and become dark. I don’t know when we’re going to get them back."

Jon Morgan, director of Theatres Trust, has labelled the news "a step in the right direction".

However, he added the caution that "for most theatres it will not be economically viable to reopen with the 30 to 40 per cent audience required under social distancing".

In the capital, socially distanced performances have been trialled at the London Palladium and with the London Symphony Orchestra.

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Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

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Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

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- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

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Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

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Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets