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June 16, 2020
Theatrical paradox
Wherever your thoughts go to when considering the impact and long term implications of this pandemic, there are few places where the prospects seem anything but gloomy. The creative industries are a case in point. A precarious area of work at the best of times, one can only guess at the damage being wrought on this particular sector. But by the same token, perhaps its longstanding familiarity with such precarity combined with its innate creativity will be its salvation. David Greig, Artistic Director of Lyceum Theatre, highlights the paradox that theatre finds itself in.
‘If you had to design a sector that would be worst affected by the pandemic, you would design a thing called theatre – everything about us makes us vulnerable to this crisis. But if you had to design an art form to help us come back from crisis – to console, amuse, divert, boost the economy and create connections with people – I would create theatre. We really will have a role to play when the moment comes, but it’s going to be tough getting to the other side’