Pubs or Panto?

Over the past few months, the UK government has given out billions of pounds to businesses at risk of unemployment, in order to fund the ongoing furlough scheme; which is understandably justified because of the current global situation during the pandemic.

However, a controversial discussion that has made the headlines this October is the fact that the British government has agreed to fund the hospitality industry in order to save jobs in pubs and night clubs, ‘’whilst not giving a second thought to the entertainment industry’’.

National companies such as the Royal Ballet Company and the Royal opera house have now decided to conduct their weekly classes online or in person following social distancing measures. However not every company has ‘’been able to bounce back as quickly as some’’, as these concerns have now caused a socially distance silent protest which took place in central London earlier this week; that was held by thousands of theatre and performing staff outside of parliament.

During the current Coronavirus crisis, the majority of the population are desperate to keep their jobs in order to earn the necessary funds needed to pay their bills, without having to take out a loan with insufferable interest. At this particular moment in time when a second wave is inevitably approaching, everything apart from hospital visits and trips to the supermarket is a luxury.

Furthermore, the popular British night out that has been sorely missed by many Brits these last few months, inevitably results in the consumption of alcohol, which also is now seen as a necessity during the current lockdown restrictions. Additionally, employees of the entertainment industry are struggling to find work during the pandemic and many ‘’have not been able to get a single job since the beginning of the year’’.

The government has claimed that it has already committed ‘’£1.57 billion towards support the UK’s cultural industry, however protesters say workers need more support’’. When speaking to members of the general public, it was discussed that the entertainments industry ‘is now gone’ and workers are now continuously urging the government to help as they are ‘’desperate to put food on the table’’ as it is ‘’not financially viable’’ to keep theatres closed.

Many entertainment employees are suggesting that the government should create a scheme similar to the ‘’eat out to help out scheme’’, which will hopefully be beneficial in supporting local businesses. The proposed entertainment scheme would ideally help to save jobs ‘’by including this like underwriting insurance and subsidising theatre tickets’’.

Overall, all of these measures would be used in order to help theatres in particular, ‘’as a play realistically needs an audience of at least 67 percent in order to survive, whilst musicals needs even more’’.