New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth wrapped with tape as part of nationwide campaign

THE New Theatre Royal has been wrapped in bright pink barrier tape as part of a nationwide campaign to highlight the plight of venues during the coronavirus crisis.
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The tape bears the message ‘Missing Live Theatre’ as the 160-year-old venue remains closed due to the ongoing pandemic and the restrictions in place to curtail the spread of Covid-19.

Theatres around the UK and Ireland are participating in the project, set up by stage designers group Scene Change, which aims to bring colourful messages of hope to empty buildings.

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The project has been taken up by venues up and down the country, including the National Theatre, The Manchester Royal Exchange, Sadler’s Wells, and the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.

New Theatre Royal has been wrapped with tape as part of a national campaign to highlight the plight of venues during the coronavirus pandemic.New Theatre Royal has been wrapped with tape as part of a national campaign to highlight the plight of venues during the coronavirus pandemic.
New Theatre Royal has been wrapped with tape as part of a national campaign to highlight the plight of venues during the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes as The News has joined a national campaign run by our parent company JPIMedia called The Show Must Go On which will highlight the value of the arts to towns and cities, and also lobby on behalf of arts organisations such as theatres and music venues to try to ease the situation they are in.

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A spokeswoman from the New Theatre Royal said: ‘We are delighted to be supporting #scenechange and the designers who have created the campaign.

‘Our beautiful theatre has been in the heart of Portsmouth for over 160 years and hope that, while we remain closed, this will remind people of the joy of live theatre.

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‘We are missing our audiences, staff and creative partners and look forward to opening our doors again just as soon as we can.’

The Scene Change campaign hopes to re-frame the crisis for theatres as a chance for them to be ‘re-imagined’, according to a spokesman.

He said: ‘We want to bring joy and colour to theatres across the UK and Ireland, whilst highlighting the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and what we as an industry and local communities are missing.

‘This is a moment of reset in our industry and we believe the design community can be an essential part of the transformation that will see theatre buildings being reopened and the ways in which theatre can be re-imagined.’

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The tape will remain up until Sunday when it will be removed and reused at another theatre.

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