SOLT Update 09 September 2021

Sep 9, 2021 | SOLT Updates

The below correspondence is posted here by kind permission from the Society of London Theatre

The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is an organisation that works with and on behalf of their Members to champion theatre and the performing arts.

Find out more about SOLT and visit their website here.

COVID Pass
COVID Pass (England) guidance has been updated in regard to children demonstrating their COVID19 status.

Recording of Vaccine Q&A with the NHS available
Thanks to those who attended our Vaccine Q&A on Tuesday. A recording of the webinar is now available to watch here. If you or anyone you know have further questions that have not been answered during the session, please send them to ceooffice@soltukt.co.uk and we will forward them to the GP who attended the webinar.

All the links that were circulated during the webinar can be downloaded here.

Reminder: Vaccine Bus – For SOLT Members
Please remind your casts, company members and colleagues that this Saturday 11 September, we’ve organised for Westminster Council’s walk-in vaccine bus to be in Shaftesbury Avenue, with NHS staff offering 1st and 2nd doses of the Pfizer vaccine to anyone aged 16 and over – no appointment required. 

The bus will be on Shaftesbury Avenue by the Lyric Theatre from 10.00am until 4.00pm. Staff and volunteers will also be on board to answer any question about the vaccine, testing and Covid safety. Free Covid home testing kits are available from the bus.
 
Details of the Westminster vaccine bus locations can be found here.

Talent signatures + theatre tickets needed for Aqua Shard’s ‘Take Two Christmas Auction’, raising money for Theatre Support Fund
Last year Aqua Shard collaborated with Performance Designer Soutra Gilmour and Chris Marcus to create a Christmas tree, made up with 800 hundred paintbrushes, as a celebration of craftworkers in London’s theatre industry and to raise awareness of their plight throughout the pandemic. The tree was only displayed for a few short weeks before December’s lockdown forced it to close. Following a tumultuous 2021, the need to support the theatre community has not diminished and so in the spirit of sustainability, the tree will be relaunched and the paintbrushes auctioned off to raise money for Theatre Support Fund, co-founded by Chris Marcus. 

For the auction, Aqua Shard is hoping to get the paintbrushes signed by stars of the stage. If you are working with any suitable names please get in touch Georgia.lowther@aqua-london.com and she will send a label to be signed and attached to a paintbrush. Additionally, they are also looking for theatre tickets as an auction prize so please get in touch if you can offer tickets to a show. All proceeds will go to Theatre Support Fund. Please help share this message far and wide.
 
Action: Practical approaches to remote working: book a place on our free webinar
We recently launched a Remote Working Toolkit in partnership with Parents and Carers in Performing Arts (PiPA) to help organisations explore the potential for remote and mixed model working and provide practical tips for implementation. 

We are hosting a free webinar on 30 September 2021, 10am – 12pm to explore how theatre organisations can utilise remote and hybrid working.

The webinar will feature speakers from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mercury Theatre, Colchester and Costume in Theatre, Entertainment and Arts, who have successfully implemented remote or mixed model working policies. 

This webinar is open to everyone and will be of particular use for those developing policies in this area. Click here to register for the webinar.
 
West End LIVE schedule announced
The full schedule has now been published (including some previously unannounced acts) for West End LIVE, which is happening on Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 September in Trafalgar Square. This year’s line-up is the best we’ve ever had, and can be viewed here. If you are participating, please do share on your social channels.

£90,000 raised for Theatre Artists Fund
At Monday’s ATG Summer Party, an auction was held to raise money for the Theatre Artists Fund, started by Sam Mendes and SOLT last summer to provide emergency aid to struggling theatre freelancers. We are delighted to announce that the auction raised £90,000, and has helped us open a new round of Theatre Artists Fund grant applications as of this week. Applications close at midday on 21 September – all information about the Fund, eligibility and how to apply is available at theatreartists.fund. Please spread the word to anyone in the industry who might want to apply.
 
New UK Theatre Members
We are happy to announce that Jonathan Church Theatre Productions (reapplied under a new legal name) and Imitating the Dog Limited are the newest UK Theatre Organisation members. Visit are also our newest Partner members.

USEFUL RESOURCES

Coronavirus Recovery Guidance

Wellbeing and mental health support for you and your staff

Jobs & careers in the sector