(Con) [V]:
51: After Clause 15, insert the following
new Clause—
“Outdoor entertainment
Local authorities in England may permit organised outdoor
entertainment, including theatrical and musical performances, if
the entertainment is organised in a manner that complies with—(a)
relevant requirements under any enactment and(b) any guidance on
social distancing that may be in place at the time of the
performance.”Member’s explanatory statement
This new Clause would enable socially-distanced outdoor
performances by actors and musicians.
Theatre and musicianship—indeed, all forms of
creative endeavour—are crafts that require constant nourishment
and nurture. It is vital that they should be financially
supported during their enforced hibernation during this pandemic,
but it is equally vital—far better, even—that they should come
back to life as soon as it is safe for them to do so.
As it stands, this Bill deals with two major wealth-creating
sectors that have been grievously hit by the pandemic:
hospitality and construction. I strongly believe that the
performing arts deserve similar recognition. Legislative
underpinning for the avoidance of doubt is sensible for a
significant shift in policy and law but, while joyously welcome,
at the moment has the status only of phase 3 of a so-called road
map.
I am also eager to raise again, as several noble Lords did
yesterday at Questions, the plight of freelance actors,
musicians technicians and other creatives who
lack the sustenance and reassurance of a financial, contractual
tie to any building or institution. They too should be numbered
among our crown jewels. I want them to receive every possible
reassurance that we, in this place, understand their current
plight and want to help them back to work and to honing their
remarkable crafts, just as soon as it is safe for them to do so.
I beg to move.
(LD) [V]:...This
proposed new clause would play entirely into that action plan. It
would enable socially distanced outdoor performances by actors
and musicians in
a variety of new spaces beyond existing outdoor
venues. We have a world-renowned, distinctive British talent in
drama, comedy and music. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, mentioned
outdoor opera at Glyndebourne and plays at Cornwall’s Minack
Theatre but, as he says, there is a lack of existing outdoor
spaces for live performance across the UK. Our creative artists,
actors and writers will seize every opportunity they can to
perform. We need to allow them to do so wherever we can; this
amendment offers them an important route for that...
(CB) [V]:...Venues
take in everything from Glyndebourne and Shakespeare’s Globe to
live music clubs in cities, with no outdoor facilities, which
would benefit from the help of the local council in mounting a
late summer season at a suitable outdoor location. One of the big
problems for the performing arts in this crisis is that the great
majority of performers, actors and
musicians—[Inaudible]—bands
and dance companies. Performances managed by a local council
would extend the number of performers who would start being paid,
which is what we need. Helping venues, great though it is, will
not necessarily help all the artists who could be helped, but
local councils being given carte blanche to work with performers
and performing companies would be a step forward...
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