Sheffield Theatres has today announced that, subject to government advice, it hopes to bring Shakespeare to Sheffield’s outdoor spaces later this year. The Theatres have also confirmed that the Crucible, Studio and Lyceum Theatres will remain closed for the time being. Shows which were scheduled to take place through to 20 July have been cancelled or postponed and customers with tickets will be contacted in due course.
Robert Hastie, Artistic Director commented: “We want to offer the city some joy and find a safe way to bring people together to experience live performance again. The last few weeks have reminded all of us here that theatre is what we do, not just the building where we usually do it. As long as we can make sure that everyone involved is safe, we can still be creative and make some great theatre happen for audiences around the city. If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you.
We’ll be making these shows with the same bold energy we always do, telling Shakespeare’s timeless stories with passion and humour, so that families, students and theatre-lovers of all ages can share in the joy of live performance.”
Sheffield Theatres will continue to liaise with Sheffield City Council and monitor official guidance on outdoor gathering as part of planning its ambition to bring Shakespeare’s plays into the city’s green spaces. Further information will follow when further government advice is available.
The Lyceum and Crucible theatres, Studio, Crucible Café and Crucible Corner will remain closed to the public through to 20 July. Sheffield Theatres has a small number of staff who are continuing to work from home and this team will be in touch with all ticket holders for affected performances in due course.
Chief Executive, Dan Bates added: “We are eager to explore taking Shakespeare into Sheffield’s beautiful outdoor spaces and hopeful that we can find a way to make this work. We’re obviously disappointed that the scheduled performances through to the 20 July can’t go ahead, although we take some comfort from knowing that we are helping to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our teams and our audiences by remaining closed for the moment. We’re working hard to reschedule as many productions as possible and we’ll be in touch with customers soon to advise on productions transferring to new dates or to arrange a refund.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the many customers who have supported us by making a donation during the lockdown. Your support, at a time that we know is challenging for everyone, means the world to us. Though our buildings are closed and our team is temporarily reduced, our work continues and our commitment to the vibrancy and wellbeing of our city and its people remains as strong as ever.”
Due to the length of the lead-in time for producing and touring theatre, some shows which were due to visit Sheffield in the autumn have postponed or cancelled their tours. The Theatres’ website (sheffieldtheatres.co.uk) provides up to date information on what’s on, as well as the ability to book tickets for future productions and discover new content and links to theatre that’s streaming now and activities for children and young people.
