The Long View

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Factual: History

History series in which stories from the past shed light on current events

Jonathan Freedland presents the series in which stories from the past are compared with current events.

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The Long View: The Long View of Theatre Closures

The Long View of Theatre Closures

BBC Radio 4 - The Long View, The Long View of Theatre Closures

Jonathan Freedland presents stories from the past and compares them with current events.

Jonathan Freedland and his team compare the forced closure of theatres today because of Covid with similar events in Shakespeare's day that saw plague close playhouses for a year.

Jonathan Freedland is joined by Shakespeare scholar Professor Emma Smith to tell the story of theatre closures in Shakespeare's time. In 1603 after the usual Lent closure on top of a period of closure through mourning of the late Queen Elizabeth I, it was hoped that the thriving theatre scene on London's South bank would roar back to life.  An outbreak of the plague made that impossible.  Then as now it was the data that drove the decision making.  Theatres were closed and only opened when the death rate in the capital dropped to below 30 a day.
Comparing the pressures on performers, writers and owners to today's theatre industry, Jonathan is joined by the actor Paapa Essiedu, the director Josie Rourke, the theatre owner Nica Burns and the Conservative MP and former actor Giles Watling.
They discover what saved Shakespeare's troupe in particular and discuss the latest billion and a half package to support the arts.  Will it be enough to protect Theatre's up and down the land without giving them the lifeline of earning potential?
How will audiences respond when and if the Theatres open again, and how does that compare with the early 1600s.
That's the Long View of Theatre Closures.

Producer - Tom Alban

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