Could COVID-19 social distancing give rise to better types of digital plays and concerts?

Earlier this week, my husband and I were supposed to see The Effect by Lucy Prebble at the theatre. Instead, because of the COVID-19 lockdown, we had a FaceTime dinner with some friends who are holed up in Winchester.

Two days later (two days after the performance was meant to take place), I got an email from the venue asking if I would prefer a full refund or to keep the money on credit for any performance in 2021.

I chose to keep the money on credit so I could support the theatre. Who knows what shows will be on in 2021, but I hope venues will still be around then.

Many arts organisations have requested donations in the last 2 weeks, and industry hardship funds in theatre and music have been set up to support artists who have been hit hardest. These measures are necessary. But they are hardly a long-term strategy.

At the same time, my social media feeds are full of musicians and other performers playing for free, actors reading the entire works of Shakespeare for free on YouTube and the occasional advert for The Met’s nightly opera streams (yep, also free).

This is wonderful, and I am quick to acknowledge the power and place of music and performing arts in a world where things feel scary and chaotic.

But I am also struck by the parallels with my own industry, media, which saw many established newspapers give away content for free on the internet back when executives believed people would always pay for the print ‘experience’. In some cases, reputable newspapers still struggle to monetise digital audiences, in part because people became used to getting news for free. They are still living with the revenue problems caused by a wrong call decades ago.

I wonder if we are at a similar juncture now for performing arts.

The discussions I’ve heard from arts organisations these last 2 weeks are all some variation of “let’s do what we can to survive until things go back to normal.” To some extent, this is grief speaking: people are mourning the loss of performances that have been cancelled or postponed.

But what if social distancing lasts for many more months (as scientists are predicting) and, more importantly, what if “normal” changes?

What if people tire of giving donations to artistic venues they can’t visit, especially if they’ve already received numerous requests from others as well? Or if they are hit by financial challenges themselves?

What if people grow used to being able to see world-class musicians play on Facebook Live for free?

What if our government diverts funds away from the arts to support more urgent needs in healthcare?

Even though there’s still a HUGE amount of good will towards theatre and music, I think these things could well happen, and probably faster than we expect.

And if there’s one thing we should take away from media, it’s that you can’t put the cat back in the bag once it’s out. We need to develop a pipeline of creatively compelling, paid work for artists.

While I believe that most of the library archive films of plays and musicals, and livestreamed concerts are often a bit flat (a pale imitation of the real thing), I think there’s an opportunity now to create some exciting, engaging theatre and music for people to ‘attend’ from their living rooms.

Theatre and music can flourish — not just survive — during social isolation. Most of us are surrounded by technology that’s there to connect us, after all. Some of us even have access to quality audio equipment that can be manipulated to allow collaboration from different locations.

My business, Greengage Ventures, is partnering with artists to use the technology around us to come up with new ways to share stories. Yes, it will require some experimentation. We will make mistakes. That’s fine. We are in new territory, so we won’t get it right at first.

I believe these digital performances can practically be a new format in their own right just like radio plays are distinct from ‘normal’ plays. As we grow used to them, see their benefits, we will understand that they can be — if done thoughtfully and compellingly — not worse but different to attending a live performance in person. There’s no reason why these shouldn’t be ticketed in the usual way.

Perhaps it’s also possible that a segment of audiences will want to attend — and possibly pay for — digital concerts and plays long after COVID-19 vaccines exist and “the 2020 lock-downs” is something that people remember with a grimace.

To be clear, I don’t think that these digital live performances will take the place of going to a venue for a show. But I think there’s space for both to flourish, and audiences for both. I hope we can create some exciting performances during the COVID-19 pandemic that not only remind us that this wasn’t a totally bleak time, but also could sow the seeds of a new type of live entertainment which fairly compensates artists (and venues, where appropriate) for their work.

I’ve seen a few early examples that give me confidence that I’m not alone in having these thoughts:

• 24 Hour Plays’ Viral Monologues (free, supported by donations)
• Living Room Live (classical music, free)
• Social Distance Opera (supported by donations)
• Social Disdancing (free, raising money for charity donations)
• Headlong Theatre, in collaboration with Century Films developing UNPRECEDENTED: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation

What do you think? Have you seen any particularly interesting and creative examples of digital performances?

Drop me a line if you would like to talk, or collaborate with Greengage Ventures.