West End supremo Sonia Friedman has warned the theatre industry needs a firm re-opening date or it may not survive.
She said it would cost her company £10 million to bring shows including Harry Potter back to the London stage, and she had decided to delay re-opening as long as possible to avoid another potential shutdown.
The Government had expected the country to leave lockdown on June 21 but the Prime Minister this week pushed it back to July 19.
Theatres are continuing under social distancing rules which cap audiences and means it is difficult to make a profit.
Speaking to the Standard for its London Rising campaign, Ms Friedman said: “We can only restart once. Don’t give us a date that then can be reversed because that will be devastating and I think irreversible for our sector.”
She repeated calls for a government-backed insurance scheme which would provide a safety net for theatres to re-open without risking bankruptcy in the event they have to close again.
The Tate is considering opening new facilities in east London to cope with its ever-expanding collection of paintings and sculptures.
Director Maria Balshaw told the Standard they needed to “be speaking to all of London”. The Tate’s current store is in Elephant and Castle.
