The Great Unlock

With practical university courses prioritised for face-to-face learning, I found myself back on campus at Edge Hill on the first day of “Roadmap Step 1a” on Monday 8th March. Schoolchildren and students have had a particularly raw deal these past 12 months, and the eagerness to start learning once again without inevitable “Zoom lag” was palpable. I am helping a group of 1st years who are on a Musical Theatre songwriting course and seeing the 3rd years through to the end of their course, which in part involved teaching chorus numbers (socially distanced etc) in the on-campus theatre. It felt good to be note-bashing once again after so many months!

“Roadmap Step 1b” on 29th March, coupled with glorious weather, has brought about a big collective gulp of fresh air to the English populous. This unlocking schedule, while tediously slow but ultimately cautious, is at the very least allowing theatre producers to plan accordingly, and the slew of announced re-openings over the next few months is heartening to see, and it really feels like we will have (at least) a busy summer season of theatre. Ultimately the canniness of commercial producers, coupled with financial help such as the Culture Recovery Fund, appears to have salvaged much of this industry from a situation where it was felt many of our big theatrical institutions and buildings would disappear.

This month sees me take a proper Easter break from university work (I could get used to these “normal person” holidays!) before getting straight back into business there. All being well, there will be the odd pub garden to visit, a long-awaited haircut and more friends to catch up with. And - who knows - maybe news about some forthcoming theatre work? We’ll see… Happy Easter, everyone!