Covid-19 Hits
March 2020 won’t be forgotten in a hurry. As the month began, we were already well aware of the impending pandemic, if not totally aware of its eventual impact. I had bought alcoholic hand gel from Boots in Woking in February - very much a scarcity these days! - and was encouraging the band to keep up their hygiene whenever at work. Some chatter over a meal or a post-show drink would turn to the virus, but it wasn’t until we started our (what would turn out to be) final week of the tour in Cardiff that I could really see what was about to hit.
Like a looming dark storm cloud, it felt like only a matter of time, yet we carried on with shows (and even rehearsals!) as normal. The week of Cardiff was when Italy went into lockdown, and the need to halt mass gatherings here was already very obvious. As the week went on it felt stranger and stranger to be doing shows to 1,000+ OAPs in a theatre in Wales. The message from our producers was not to panic and continue on as normal until government advice changed.
Merely as a precaution, I removed my valuables from the tour at the end of that week, but I did feel as though we were going to at least open in our next venue, Sunderland, before a ban on mass gatherings came in. As it was, when Boris Johnson announced on Monday 16th that he would prefer if people didn’t go to the theatre, that was enough for SOLT & UK Theatre to close all productions. Our get-in in Sunderland was turned into a get-out, and still a fortnight later the show (and everyone’s belongings) remain locked on trailers somewhere in the UK.
Friday of that same week was when Boris Johnson officially called for theatres to close, and as a result our contracts were immediately terminated, with the rest of the tour now cancelled. I had decided to hold my position in Cheshire, with my parents, which is where I am to this day and expect to stay until non-essential travel is once again permitted. The fact that the industry I work in disappeared overnight has taken quite some getting used to, but I try and concentrate my mind on helping the NHS as best I can by keeping myself and the rest of the family safe from the virus. I also try and remember that when I feel slightly useless and a burden to society: the best use I can be right now is to stay inside and not do anything!
So the diary is completely empty now and I don’t expect to be back in a theatre until the middle of next year. Hopefully it will be sooner and that will be very welcome, but I’m readying myself to hunker down for the long haul. Whether I find a hobby or another line of work is for another day - at the moment it is small steps, as well as actually enjoying an earlier-than-expected break! For now I am back running around the (local) Cheshire countryside, aiming for 10k at some point, trying out some new cooking recipes (we’re taking it in turns as a family to make each other dinner), getting some box sets and films ticked off, and I suppose at some point I should get back to some piano practise.
I’ll keep this blog updated monthly as ever, but of course there will be a slightly different “lockdown” slant for the time being! Stay well, everyone, and stay inside.