Knaresborough’s Frazer Theatre has said it will remain closed until 2021 because it is not possible to observe social distancing and be financially viable.
The theatre, which is just off the town’s high street, has a capacity of 127 people but with social distancing this number would decrease hugely.
It has therefore decided to put the safety of its audience and volunteers first and postpone reopening.
John Pearce, vice-chairman of Frazer Theatre, said it was financially secure and lucky to be able to stay closed with minimal expenses because it is run entirely by volunteers.
Rehearsals at the theatre, which staged about 180 performances last year, will therefore resume no earlier than March 2021.
Mr Pearce said:
“The number one concern is safety and until we’re 100% safe or as near to it as we can be we just aren’t going to risk it. One thing we wonder about is how quickly audiences will feel comfortable to return.
If we have to keep a metre between people we are essentially blocking nine chairs around every one and that would be really difficult to organise. We’ve gone through the guidance as it stands and the sad answer is until there’s almost no restrictions we won’t be able to open.
“It’s not a decision we took lightly but it’s been a tough time.”
This theatre is postponing its reopening until the full theatre experience can be enjoyed.
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The theatre is hopeful that restrictions will eventually ease enough to allow it to reopen. But it is concerned about the overall impact the pandemic could have on the arts in the district. Mr Pearce added:
“We hope that by Christmas things will have eased so we can plan for next year. We’d love to be able to open but we don’t want to go to the effort of booking shows and having to cancel them again and disappoint people.
“We know we’re blessed to be secure, it breaks our heart to know there are theatre groups and bigger theatres talking about shutting.”
