South Korea is here to save Britain’s struggling theatres | WIRED UK

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Andrew Lloyd Webber is testing the technology used by the Korean opera Phantom to save British theaters. But it may be too late

In southeast London, the Bromley Little Theatre (Bromley Little Theatre) has performances as long as most locals remember. This theater has 113 seats. It was once a Victorian remodeled bakery and is known for its vitality-but since March, it has lined up a row of red auditorium seats and stages.

with

, Is empty, and collect dust.

Keith Jeremiah, chairman of the board of directors of the Bromley Little Theatre, said: "At least for the remainder of 2020, we have postponed the entire production plan." "As an amateur run by volunteers The company, we have no vacations or redundant employees, but still have rent and other fixed costs."

With the reopening of bars, restaurants, and hair salons, the future of the arts and entertainment industry is still being questioned because social distancing is almost impossible and economically unfeasible in some smaller theaters and concert halls.

When the lockdown began, the arts management consultant TRG Arts reported

And nearly 93% of musicians, artists and creatives in this industry

The pandemic threatened their livelihoods.

The larger theaters have been doing everything they can to survive like movies like Old Vic

, And the regional theater

There is no Christmas pantomime.

Last week,

An introduction aimed at "protecting Britain's world-class cultural, artistic and heritage institutions". After several weeks of lobbying, industry leaders welcomed urgent investment to "save the art." But few people believe that this is enough.

"What art will it save?" Ask Jessica Brough, the founder and director of "Color Fringe Art". This is a grassroots project dedicated to the free ticket program for performers of color and a The new online film festival, "Color Film Fringe Art", makes the Edinburgh Fringe Festival more suitable for people of color. "It's too late, because all these art organizations and companies have laid off their employees, and some places have closed. Many venues and performers may not be able to recover from the financial losses they suffered from the insurance costs they suffered when they closed down." Close the door at the beginning. "

The government has not yet provided detailed information on the funds that will be allocated to more mature countries and regions as well as local and amateur venues. Everyone has been severely affected by this epidemic. Stadiums that can be reopened need to find a safe way while complying with Covid-19 guidelines — and profiting.

So theater owners like Andrew Lloyd Webber turned to South Korea for help. When theaters around the world are closed, live performances are allowed to take place on site, audiences wear masks, and staff use personal protective equipment. If an audience or a member of the company develops symptoms, a 15-day quarantine restriction is imposed on any theater, and the venue has established a system that can quickly contact and test all attendees and employees. Webb's world tour

The play was held in a 1,600-seat theater and was one of the three main works in the entire pandemic. It was closed for three weeks until April when the actors were sick. It is impressive that the company was able to quickly test its 126-member actors and company, as well as 8,578 spectators who participated in the production between March 15 and 31.

of

When touring performances, for example, placing the front row at a distance of 5.2 meters to avoid spitting of the actors, which may affect Weber's plan to test at one of its West End venues, London Palladium. Palladium has nearly 2,300 seats, the largest capacity among the seven venues in London in the composer's LW Theater Group, and will be one of the first test beds for coronavirus protection theaters in the UK.

"When you enter the theater, they have thermal imaging cameras on the stage doors. These can identify whether people have reached temperature quickly." Weber

. Airlines are also developing this product, and we have also ordered it. We have ordered silver ion automatic cleaning door handles for our small test, these handles are completely effective against pathogens such as coronavirus for a long time. Everyone who enters the theater is tired of antiviral chemicals that last 30 days. "

But can this work in the UK? It is worth noting that at the time of writing, the death toll in South Korea is 287, which is completely different from the 44,602 in the UK. Jeremiah said: “The suggested physical measures may reassure potential listeners and overcome the natural reluctance to participate in events.” “However, they are more effective in controlling the spread of the virus and allowing audiences of all capabilities. It depends on the rigorous tracking and analysis of the infection route, which will take time to prove."

The problem is that there is still insufficient evidence on infection routes in public spaces. As bars and other venues reopen, we may only be able to collect data over time.

Weber used thermal imaging as an option, which would be the least disruptive way for viewers to still be able to watch movies in a way similar to before the crisis. But there are many scientific studies

To prevent the spread of infections like Covid-19, security expert Bruce Schneier even described it as a "safe theater." He believes that considering that the difference between normal body temperature and body temperature caused by Covid-19 may be only one degree Celsius, "temperature is a bad manifestation of disease."

In the aviation field, infrared temperature testing is more advanced, but the European Union Aviation Safety Agency reports: “Thermal screening equipment will miss one to 20 percent of passengers”, while one to one percent Twenty-five passengers may be mistakenly marked as having temperature-a large margin of error. recent

The overview of temperature screening and aviation also pointed out: "The current scientific evidence does not support temperature screening as an effective method of screening for coronavirus."

Thermal imaging cameras are expensive, ranging from hundreds of handheld devices to tens of thousands of mature self-service terminal systems. If they can afford it, installation in a small theater will be relatively simple, just install a small camera on the screen. Tim Kelly, Liberty Theater's lighting and production manager, said the main problem is the cost of the surveillance system (and the equipment itself).

In addition to letting employees run the system, the theater must also figure out when and where they recorded their body temperature, because the strong light used in the production process can heat the auditorium. Kelly said: "You have to consider scanning people on admission rather than during the performance, because these lights emit a lot of heat and it is difficult to get accurate readings,"

The theater has limited time and cannot decide whether to reopen this year (or later). Even copy other countries-German theater

-May make British films impossible to survive.

Nottingham Theatre Artistic Director Adam Penford (Adam Penford)

His team developed 25 different seating plans, but none of them made any economic sense. Pantos is in danger this year, because in the locked environment, there is no longer an audience shouting "watching behind you". For regional theaters that lost almost all their revenue during the lock-up period, the lack of a Christmas panorama means permanent closure.

This weekend is

, Starting from July 11, the first outdoor performance and indoor test nationwide. Testing activities include the London Symphony Orchestra at St. Luke’s Church, Butlin’s Holiday Park and the London Palladium, where Lloyd-Webber conducted technical tests and hoped to emulate other cinemas. Lloyd Webber told the BBC: “It’s horrible to see everything that I’ve loved in my life disappears.” “Theater is my way to get back into business, and it’s for me. That’s great to say. I want to prove that they can open up."

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