Theatre updates as Brisbane locks down
As the Queensland State Government’s lockdown and restrictions come into place tonight, many members of the Brisbane theatre community have been left to make fast decisions regarding their upcoming shows.
While some performances have been cancelled for the weekend, other organisations are quickly enacting postponements to their seasons.
Queensland’s Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) released a statement earlier today that they will be cancelling all shows from Friday, 8 January at 3:00 PM until Monday, 11 January at 6:00 PM. This includes all performances of ‘Shrek the Musical’ scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. It’s a hard hit for the cast and crew after their tour was cut short last year due to the outbreak.
Other hard-hit organisations include a variety of community and independent theatres and venues who were set to return to the stage this weekend. After a long battle last year, they face the tremulous idea of another earth-shattering lock-down.
Brisbane Arts Theatre has had to cancel their performance of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit (and Benjamin’s Bunny)’ tomorrow night, thus ending the show’s run early. They have asked everyone to follow the health guidelines and stay safe during this time.
Spotlight Theatrical Company has made the decision to cancel their Saturday and Monday performances of ‘Hansel & Gretel’ following the announcement today. The President of the Company took to Facebook to express their commitment to the safety of their staff, volunteers, cast and patrons. They will also be conducting a deep clean of the theatre to ensure safety.
BackDock Arts have had to move their exhibition of ‘Naked Expressions’ to next Friday as opposed to tonight. If patrons have bought tickets to ‘Brooke and Friends Open Mic Night’, the even is now happening online.
Moreton Bay Theatre Company (MBTC) has had to postpone this weekend’s performance of ‘Cinderella The Pantomime’. MBTC apologises for the inconvenience and wishes their patrons a safe weekend.
Another children’s production at QUT Gardens Theatre has had to close due to the lockdown. This weekend’s planned performance of ‘Room on the Broom’ will not be going ahead as scheduled.
Musical theatre academy, Harvest Rain, has had to cancel their performances of ‘Legally Blonde the Musical Jnr’ this weekend following the announcement. Their students had been attending their holiday workshop all week training to showcase their skills.
Brisbane Junior Theatre has had to cancel their performances of ‘Cinderella’ on Friday and Saturday night this weekend.
Sunshine Coast theatre venue, Lind Lane Theatre, will continue to monitor the health advice given by the Queensland Health and the State Government at this time ahead of their scheduled opening weekend of ‘Judy Glen in A Comedy of Arias’.
While the above are only a few mentioned theatre groups have already made plans about their upcoming productions, our thoughts go out to all our fellow creatives in Brisbane and the surrounding regions. The lockdown comes after a high-risk is posed to the UK mutant strain of the coronavirus.
We hope that this a short intermission to the rest of a fruitful year of performances.
For all ongoing updates regarding the lockdown and restrictions, please follow the health advice given by Queensland Health and the Queensland Government.
