Theatre Royal loses $65k following lockdown

Alongside theatres up and down the country, Nelson’s Theatre Royal are eager to get back to Alert Level 1 so they can bounce back to business.

After a month of no income for September, Theatre Royal manager Eliane Polack is hoping a change of alert level by October will help turn things around for the theatre.

“I did the calculations recently and we’re looking at a loss of around $65,000 for the month of September,”

“We’re a bit frustrated of going through plans A, B, C, D and even E,” she says.

Eliane says they are grateful the theatre put in cost-cutting initiatives long before lockdown. These savings alongside the wage subsidy she says has kept the theatre from going under.

Another move the theatre is thankful to have made before this lockdown is having their own ticket booking system so they can reschedule and refund customers without hassle. Eliane hopes this will make theatregoers more confident about getting their tickets early.

Eliane reminisces on a busy August before lockdown with sold-out shows and a booked-out theatre programme.

“Winding Up was one of our last big professional production shows with a huge set, selling out all five nights. That was awesome, that’s why it’s so extra sad as everything was going really well right before lockdown.”

A buzz the theatre is eager to reignite with shows like Indian Ink’s Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream and the plethora of entertainment scheduled for the Nelson Arts Festival.

“For us we plan as if things are going to happen but if it doesn’t, we just take it as it comes,” she says.

Local theatre and dance companies are also crossing their fingers to see the iconic theatre open its doors again.

The Nelson Academy of Dance has managed to reschedule their ballet Coppélia originally planned for September for October 13 to 15, the second week of the school holidays.

“The cast was totally gutted when lockdown was announced, the week before we were due to set up in the theatre,” says company director Gillian Francis.

She says the cast of 70 odd dancers reacted to the new dates set with cheers over the phone and the company got back into rehearsals at Alert Level 2.

Despite having to put ongoing repairs that are not feasible for now on hold, Eliane says the theatre will have good ventilation with sufficient fresh air supply to help put the theatre-loving community at ease.

“We don’t want to be cutting corners and bending the rules. We want our audience to feel comfortable and to know we will only be open when it’s safe,” says Eliane.