The arts and entertainment industry was the first to close down when COVID-19 hit the Maltese islands and it seems it will be the last one to recover, the advisory committee for theatre within the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) has warned.
In a statement, MEIA president Howard Keith wrote: “We had an opportunity to implement a more staggered approach to reopen; however, the outcome was very different than what we had hoped for.
“Summer period is typically the peak period for the entertainment industry, but for theatre, the winter months are where most productions take place.”
The theatre advisory committee has been in regular discussions offering recommendations and solutions since its official launch two months ago.
The committee noted in the statement that all theatres are ‘in the dark’ and closed for business, or open only with very strict COVID protocols. Most theatrical productions, large and small, have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely, leaving most professionals in the industry with significant loss of income.
Besides this, the committee added, the public may feel unsafe to return to live events, “potentially mirroring the public narrative that has put events in a bad light”.
The large majority of productions take place in state-owned theatres. At the moment, the only way productions can go ahead is by following strict COVID-19 protocols. And because of social distancing, and depending on the format of the theatre itself, only about a third of seats are available for sale.
The committee believes that the financial viability of any independently-run production is impossible to consider at 30 per cent capacity.
“It is for this reason that the government vouchers are of no use to most producers and why the MEIA firmly believes that attendances should be incentivised with a voucher for the arts over a minimum 12-month period when protocols allow us to welcome more people into our theatres,” the committee suggested.
“Whereas the Theatre Advisory Committee is thankful that certain public cultural organisations, even the recent short play festival by Cospicua local council, are doing their utmost to retain some form or other of theatre activity, physically distant or in digital format, they are equally aware that such initiatives entail additional investment. For a producer or theatre company to develop such work independently, additional investment is needed.
“This is also why MEIA is recommending support for arts venues to invest in equipment for reopening and measures to support digitalisation and innovation with technology.”
The government vouchers are of no use to most producers
Edward Mercieca, chair of the theatre advisory sub-committee, stressed that: “For the sake of artistic diversity and freedom of expression, we cannot risk having the public sector as the only producer.”
Another obstacle, in the committee’s view, is that publicly-funded state theatres have kept their rental prices the same as at pre-COVID levels.
“This is where we expect the government to intervene and why this was one of our first recommendations for publicly-funded theatres to work with independent producers to make a production viable,” the committee pointed out.
“It is worthwhile noting that the biggest single item in a theatre production’s budget is the rental of the theatre.
“If such costs, especially for publicly-funded venues, are not reviewed, then producers will certainly not risk investing in a production in an environment that’s already high risk, resulting in no work for all involved.”
The committee noticed that producers have currently stopped producing, and most, if not all of those who depend on the theatre industry, are without an income.
“It is a major concern that six months into the crisis we still lack a survival and recovery plan to address the dire financial situation the sector’s dependants find themselves in,” the committee continued.
Mercieca added: “We want to produce new work and raise the curtains once again for our appreciative and supportive audiences. However, producing new work requires months, even years, of preparation. We need to plan ahead, and in view of the current crisis, we cannot do it alone.
“Both seed funding for new work and a guarantee facility would enable us to share that risk.”
The committee believes that without a coherent plan and investment, the sector risks losing the talent that has been painstakingly nurtured and celebrated over the years.
It highlighted the fact that theatre also needs to adapt to the times as much as possible, while noting that most independent producers have successfully produced memorable productions without any public funding, and are also major clients of publicly-funded theatres.
“Keeping them in business matters for our performers, our audiences and our culture.
“It is now, in these extraordinary times, that the sector calls on the government to help the sector help itself,” the committee said in conclusion.
“We look forward to the day when we can, once again, hear the stage manager cue a house to half, and whisper: curtain up!”