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TheCOVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the performing arts, mirroring itsimpacts across all arts sectors. Due to physical distancing requirements and closure of the physical venues, curtailing not only public performances but also rehearsals, many performing arts institutions attempted to adapt by offering new (or newly expanded) digital services. In particular this resulted in the freeonline streaming of previously recorded performances of many companies – especiallyorchestral performances andplays – lists of which were collated by journalists[1][2][3] as well as bespokecrowdsourcing projects.[4][5]
Live musical performances in indoor spaces were cancelled. Theatre performances were cancelled or delayed. AllBroadway theatres in New York were closed[6] as well asWest End theatres in London.[7]Waitress on West End andFrozen on Broadway announced they would close permanently.[8][9]9 to 5: The Musical on West End,[10]Beetlejuice,[11]The Inheritance,[12] andThriller – Live on Broadway[7] and theEndgame andRough for Theatre II double bill atThe Old Vic[13] were already scheduled to end, but were forced to close earlier than expected. BothHangmen and revival ofWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Broadway cancelled their entire run, though they had a few preview performances prior to the Broadway shut down.[14][15]Mean Girls announced on January 7, 2021, that it would not be reopening post pandemic, though it intended to resume its tour and the film adaptation of the musical remained in the works.[16]The Secret of My Success, mid-run in its world premiere andpre-Broadway tryout at theParamount Theatre, was shut down March 13.[17][18][19]Shakespeare's Globe called for urgent funding in order to avoid insolvency.[20]
Premieres and openings postponed included the world premieres of101 Dalmatians[21] andIdentical[22], Broadway openings as revival ofAmerican Buffalo,Caroline, or Change,Diana,Flying Over Sunset, revival ofHow I Learned to Drive,The Lehman Trilogy,Mrs. Doubtfire, revival ofPlaza Suite,Sing Street,Six, and revival ofTake Me Out;[12][23] West End openings includingBlithe Spirit,[23]Cinderella,[24] revival ofThe Seagull[25] and revival ofSunday in the Park with George;[7]Local Hero and4000 Miles at the Old Vic.[26]Hairspray at theLondon Coliseum,[27] andWhat's New Pussycat? at theLeeds Playhouse.[28]
The2020 Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony was cancelled, with the awards issued in an alternate manner.[29] The74th Tony Awards was postponed.[30] The 2020 announcement of thePulitzer Prize for Drama was postponed to May 4 via live stream on the prize's official website.[31]
Throughout 2021, spikes in the pandemic caused some closures even after markets reopened.[32][33]
Most dance companies have cancelled their remainders of the 2019–2020 season, and several companies have cancelled the entire spring season. For example, theAmerican Ballet Theatre 80th Anniversary Season at theMetropolitan Opera House was cancelled, along with New York Premiere ofOf Love and Rage and several dancers' debuts.[34]
At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, all Broadway shows were stopped. This included ceasing the showRiverdance, which was doing a run inRadio City Music Hall for their 25th anniversary tour throughout North America.
In June 2020, theNew York City Ballet announced the remaining performance in 2020 are canceled, including the annualGeorge Balanchine'sThe Nutcracker performances in December, the first time since the ballet premiered in 1954.[35] Some companies had to reschedule their future performances and premieres. For example,National Ballet of Canada had to revise their 2020/21 season, with the world premieres ofMADDADDAM postponed to fall 2020,Karen Kain'sSwan Lake postponed to 2021, and the North American premiere ofVictoria postponed to 2022 to make way forSwan Lake.[36]
The performance cancellations had also impacted several dancers' retirement, such asEleonora Abbagnato of theParis Opera Ballet, whose departure was already delayed due to a dancers' strike, and is now postponed to autumn 2020.[37][38] The respective farewells of American Ballet Theatre'sStella Abrera andAlvin Ailey American Dance Theater'sHope Boykin were not rescheduled.[39]
Most orchestra performances have been cancelled or postponed. For example, theBoston Symphony Orchestra cancelled their Asian tour,Orchestre de Paris had also cancelled their concerts.[40]
Most opera productions have been cancelled or postponed, by companies such as theCanadian Opera Company,Metropolitan Opera andThe Royal Opera. The world premiere ofRitratto, which was commissioned by theDutch National Opera, was also postponed.[41]
In response to the cancellation of many of its planned productions, Finnish National Opera commissioned, created, and producedCovid fan tutte, a comic opera about life during the pandemic using music from Mozart'sCosi fan tutte, starring a Finnish cast and premiering 28 August 2020 with small audiences and social distancing restrictions.[42]
Many performing arts festivals are cancelled, including the 2020Edinburgh Fringe Festival, cancelled for the first time in 60 years. The 2020 edition ofHong Kong Arts Festival andOerol Festival are also cancelled, though theHolland Festival is attempting to convert to online event.[43]
Livestand-up comedy ended early in the pandemic, comedians managed to adjust their performance around COVID-19. Many usedInstagram Live to reach audiences;front-facing camera comedy became the dominant form during the pandemic, replacing thecomedy special.[44]
Individual actors, such asPatrick Stewart andSam Neill, entertained from isolation in order to "...be in this together and that this has to take the form of being apart", as Neill described his contribution ofcomedic relief.[45] Stewart, a trained Shakespearian actor, broadcast himself reading onesonnet each day viaInstagram,[46] readings described as "more than light entertainment, they're moments of connection".[47] TheSydney Theatre Company commissioned actors to film themselves at home discussing, then performing, a monologue from one of the characters they had previously played on stage.[48]
The original West End cast ofMamma Mia!, reunited via a group video call, sang "Thank You for the Music" in tribute to NHS and a cast member with coronavirus.[49]Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of the musicalHamilton (including original performersLeslie Odom Jr.,Anthony Ramos andRenée Elise Goldsberry) reunited onJohn Krasinski'sSome Good News to surprise a nine-year-old girl named Aubrey who was a "superfan" ofHamilton but was unable to see the show due to the coronavirus. They also sang "Alexander Hamilton" for Aubrey.[50]
Kathy Lette presented aZoom performance ofThe One Day of the Year with five actors performing from their homes.[51]
TheOld Vic have announced a socially distanced performance ofLungs byDuncan Macmillan starringClaire Foy andMatt Smith to be performed live from the Old Vic stage and relayed on-line to a ticketed audience of the same size as Old Vic's usual capacity.[52]
TheRoyal Opera House had its first performance on 13 June, which was broadcast via YouTube and BBC Radio 3. The performance included classical music and a new dance byWayne McGregor.[53]
Many ballet companies ran classes viaZoom to their dancers which were also broadcast.[54] Ballet dancers, includingprincipal dancer with theAmerican Ballet Theatre,James B. Whiteside andIsabella Boylston, as well as theartistic director and a leadprincipal dancer of theEnglish National BalletTamara Rojo, offered live classes on social media.[55]
Musicians had performed at-home concerts during quarantine.[56]
The Maltings Theatre, St Albans performed an interactive production ofTwelfth Night with both cast and audience being Zoom participants.[57]
TheOriginal Theatre Company announced a performance ofBirdsong using live performance and video tech as a fundraiser forThe Royal British Legion directed by Alastair Whatley.[58]
TheLockdown Theatre Festival is a BBC radio festival comprising a debate about the future of theatre and four radio plays that had either had curtailed runs or failed to start due to COVID-19:Lyric Hammersmith Theatre'sLove Love Love byMike Bartlett,Manchester Royal Exchange'sRockets And Blue Lights byWinsome Pinnock (this had no performances, and was to have been a world premiere),Orange Tree Theatre'sThe Mikvah Project byJosh Azouz, andRoyal Court Theatre'sShoe Lady byE.V. Crowe.[59]
Considering how to host to audiences at internal venues, theKings Theatre, Southsea has that announced its 2020 pantomime will be performed for a reduced audience of 400 (compared to its usual 1400) capacity, who will have their seats allocated by the venue, be directed to specific entrances and arrival time, and will have to pre-book refreshments.[60]
In June,Gran Teatre del Liceu reopened, though the performances were live-streamed and the audience was filled with plants.[61]
In June, the musicalSix announced that their West End and UK touring casts will perform drive-in performances in 12 open spaces across the UK, making them the first West End musical to resume performances.[62] However, in July, the tour was cancelled due to local lockdowns in the UK.[63]
In August, the musicalDiana announced that the Broadway production will berecorded with no audience to be released onNetflix on October 1, 2021, ahead of its newly scheduled opening on December 1, 2021.[64]
The 2020Royal Variety Performance was held inBlackpool at the Opera House within the Winter Gardens, on the evening of 29 November. As a consequence of the pandemic, the show that has been attended by royalty since 1912 was performed to an empty auditorium. The audience was invited to make a donation to theRoyal Variety Charity instead of buying tickets. Screens placed on the auditorium seats allowed performers to see the faces of their virtual audience.[65] The recorded show was broadcast iniTV on 8 December.[66]
In late 2020, users of the social media appTikTok crowdsourced the creation of amusical based on the 2007Disney/Pixar filmRatatouille. Beginning when one TikTok user created a short comedic song in tribute to Remy, the main character of the film, users then remixed and added to each other's videos to envision a full musical, including scenic design, choreography, and more songs. A virtual concert presentation of it, produced by Seaview Productions, streamed for 72 hours onTodayTix beginning January 1, 2021 to benefitThe Actors Fund. It was directed bySix co-creator and co-director Lucy Moss from a script adaptation by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, both of whom co-executive produced the concert withJeremy O. Harris. The cast includedKevin Chamberlin as Gusteau,Andrew Barth Feldman as Linguini,Titus Burgess as Remy,Adam Lambert as Emile,Wayne Brady as Django,Priscilla Lopez as Mabel,Ashley Park as Colette,André De Shields as Anton Ego, Owen Tabaka as Young Anton Ego andMary Testa as Skinner. The concert raised $1 million for The Actors Fund.[67][68][69][70][71]
In February 2021, the planned narrative film adaptation of the musicalCome from Away was cancelled in favor ofrecording the Broadway production with its cast reprising their roles. It was filmed that May with invited frontline workers and survivors of theSeptember 11 attacks in the audience and was released on September 10, 2021, a day before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.[72][73]
To allow performers to begin performing publicly again during the pandemic, a variety of organizations have begun to develop and market specializedpersonal protective equipment. A variety of specialized masks for singers have been created; traditional cloth masks can be sucked into the mouth while performing and muffle performers' voices, so singers' masks contain an interior superstructure that provides a resonant space while keeping cloth further away from the face.[74][75] Proceeds from the sale of some masks are designated for charity.[76] Other masks for woodwind and brass players, including components to cover the bells of instruments as needed, have also been produced,[77] and are being sold through standard equipment retailers.[78][79] Sound and virus shields, including portable examples meant to be attached to amusic stand in various configurations, also exist.[80]
Some musicians have designed themed face masks to raise money for charity.[81] ConductorIván Fischer designed a mask with plastic cups attached at the ears to enhance the acoustics of a live performance as experienced by the wearer.[82]
Numerous music schools have devised protocols regarding the use of personal protective equipment as part of their return to on-campus studies and live performance.[83][84]
Due to the closure of productions and the simultaneous shortage ofpersonal protective equipment (PPE) several theatre costume departments – including that of theBerlin State Opera – converted to creatingface masks.[85] TheEnglish National Opera produced face masks and scrubs for distribution to workers at theNational Health Service.[86]
Thefilmed version of the stage musicalHamilton, originally scheduled for an October 15, 2021 theatrical release, but was later moved up to July 3, 2020, exclusively onDisney+, as announced by the show's creatorLin-Manuel Miranda on May 12, 2020.[87] This push-up can also be seen as allowing the film to be watched in observance of a more relevant holiday fromHalloween toIndependence Day, as Act I of the musical is set during theAmerican Revolutionary War—which Independence Day commemorates—and the play hasFounding Fathers as characters.
Some professional performing arts companies have released previously recorded productions. For example,Andrew Lloyd Webber released recordings of his musicals on YouTube;[88] theRoyal Opera House released performances of theRoyal Ballet and theRoyal Opera;[89] andCirque du Soleil released one hour specials on YouTube each week.[90] ActressPhoebe Waller-Bridge made the video of her playFleabag available online for donations of at least £4.[91]
Due to the closures, reductions in revenues for cultural organisations reliant on ticket sales were expected to cause devastating effects on organisational staffing, and on independent artists and professionals, partly due to the fact that the arts and culture is an economic sector characterised by a particularly high proportion of self-employment.[92] For example, by March 20,Cirque du Soleil hadlaid off 95% of its workforce and closed travelingcircus performances operating in seven countries.[93] Performing arts festivals such as theHong Kong Arts Festival were cancelled.[94]
Opera Australia – Australia's largestperforming arts company – temporarily stood down nearly all its staff[95] amid speculation it would also need to sell major assets in order to avoidbankruptcy.[96] By March 23, 255,000 cultural events had been cancelled, with an estimated revenue loss of $A280 million, self-reported through the crowdsourced website ILostMyGig.net.au.[97]
In the United States, as the pandemic spread and closures became the standard rather than the exception, institutions started publishing expected revenue shortfall calculations.[98] For example, by the end of March, theMetropolitan Opera expected to loseUS$60 million in revenue.[99]
In parallel to museum sector layoffs, staff began tounionise, even thoughsocial distancing orders prevented the in-person meetings required to sign the cards required to file for union elections.[100] Meanwhile, on 18 March and in response to the rapid rise of online performances during the closures of performance spaces, theActors' Equity Association announced a new "streaming media agreement" available to productions in areas with physical distancing regulations in force, for "select producers to capture and make a performance available online for one-time viewing to ticket buyers".[101] A planned performance of'Tis Pity She's a Whore viavideoconferencing software was cancelled at the last minute due to a dispute between the theatre producers and the union. The AEA argued that during a time when almost everyone in the arts is going without a regular pay cheque and is worried about their health care, "it's deeply sad to see that some employers will still ask Equity actors to work without the protections of a contract."[102] The theatre producers argued that "cyberspace" is not within the AEA's jurisdiction nor "...should free online-only experience, in which actors participate from the safety and comfort of their own home on teleconference, without rehearsal or admission price," be subject to the Off-Broadway agreement.[103]
On 11 January 2021, it was announced that Indonesian–Japanese idol groupJKT48 will forcibly mass-remove 26 of its 59 remaining members due to crisis caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic and government-imposedlarge-scale social restrictions.[104] They will officially leave the group mid-March 2021.[105]
With the extensive financial disruption across all areas of the economy, many governments announcedfiscal stimulus andeconomic bailout packages which included specific resources for the arts and cultural sectors. Equally, variouscharities and industry bodies raised funds to support their sector.
Arts and culture sector financial stimulus packages from individual countries included:
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Australia: In March, a petition of over 50 arts and culture organisations (including peak bodies from the music, dance, visual arts, museums, writers' and indigenous arts groups) requested a financial aid package "...to a value of 2% of the $111.7 billion [cultural and creative] industry". Furthermore, it requesting the Prime Minister "...issue a public statement recognising the value of our industry to all Australians" and noting that the industry had not yet recovered from the impact of the2019–20 Australian bushfire season.[106] Separately, Live Performance Australia, which represents the live performing industry, had requested $850 million for its sector.[107]
Instead of the $2.2billion requested in the petition, In early April thefederal government announced a package of $27million in specific Arts funding – $7 million for the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support program, $10 million forRegional Arts Australia's regional arts fund, and $10 million for Support Act,"the charity that provides financial support and counselling to people in the music industry".[108] It also expanded unemployment assistance in response to the pandemic – dubbedJobKeeper – however it specifically excluded "freelancers and casuals on short-term contracts, or who have worked for a series of employers in the last year". Given arts sector's high reliance on short-term contracts, a large proportion of arts and cultural sector professionals were ineligible for the scheme.[109][110]
United Kingdom:Arts Council England announced £160 million would be made available for arts organisations, including £50 million for organisations it does not usually fund and £20 million for individual and freelance artists.[92]
United States: In late March the United States federal government announced a $2 trillion economic stimulus package in theCoronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It included: "$75 million for theNational Endowment for the Arts and $75 million for theNational Endowment for the Humanities, which can pass on the money to institutions that need it. Another $50 million was designated to theInstitute of Museum and Library Services, which distributes funds to museums and libraries.[111] SomeRepublicans criticizedUS$25 million in relief funding that was allocated for theKennedy Center as wasteful spending.[112]