Welcome to the November edition of Ensemble. I hope you’re all staying safe and keeping well.

As we endure this second national Lockdown, we must pull together, stay strong, remain positive and support each other to get through this next challenging period. We’ve come this far and we’ve all made sacrifices but we will continue to persevere, adapt and innovate. Remember to keep talking, stay connected to colleagues and focus on the future. We are a resilient bunch and our beloved industry will bounce back. The ingenuity of the UK theatre and arts scene throughout this crisis has been inspiring and world-beating. We will get through this. Remember, if you need support or guidance, our HR department are here to help and there are other helplines for you to access in the Positive Minds section.

At the eleventh hour at the end of October, the Chancellor announced that the furlough scheme has now been extended until the end of March 2021 and we must take advantage of the support being offered by the government in order to ensure our continued survival. This extension replaces the Job Support Scheme which has now been postponed. Your line managers and the HR team will have been in contact with many of you already to discuss furlough arrangements. We are monitoring it month-by-month, dependent on the business needs and we welcome the extension. We thank you all again for the sacrifices you have already made and are continuing to make.

Looking to the future, we are continuing to invest in the business and in recent weeks we have made some very positive announcements including news of new productions Death Drop and Jersey Boys and the re-opening of Trafalgar Theatre next spring. The Jersey Boys on sale proved successful with very strong first week sales which is encouraging as we move forward. We’re ahead of the competition for the ‘big brand’ musical market and we’ve seen a significantly positive sales response of being so, capitalising on the pent-up demand. And Rocky Horror is back to provide some much needed fun and frivolity with a major UK tour for 2021. Sales for Rocky have also been incredibly strong during the first week of on sale. We’ve rounded up all these announcements in this month’s Ensemble.

On a wider industry level, we had the confirmation regarding rehearsal and pre-production activities for performing arts during the 4-week period of national restrictions in England. Venues, rehearsal spaces and workshops are all considered places of work and therefore people can go into them if the work cannot be undertaken from home. This includes rehearsals, filming and streaming but audiences are not permitted for any activity. The formal regulations confirm this position.

Finally, just a reminder that in line with Government guidelines we are encouraging all staff to work from home where possible until 2 December. The current advice states that travel to a workplace should only occur where you cannot work from home, so if you are unable to work from home or need to be in the office please contact HR or Emily O’Dell who will be able to arrange safe access for you.

Until next time, take care of yourselves.
Sending you all my very best wishes
Rosemary