SOLT Update 18 November 2021

Nov 18, 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.

UK terrorism threat level raised to SEVERE
The UK National Threat Level has been raised from substantial to SEVERE – meaning an attack is highly likely. The decision has been driven by two terrorist incidents in the past month, reflecting the diverse, complex and volatile nature of the terrorist threat in the UK.

Further guidance for theatres is available here or you can contact our Head of Risk and Safety, Phill Brown.

In case you missed it: watch the recording of UK Theatre’s Annual Review 2021
Our Annual Review took place in early November 2021, where we discussed issues facing our sector, key achievements, and future plans. If you missed it, you can now watch the recording of the Annual Review and download the slide deck presentation on our website here.

Vaccine Passports – Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
Yesterday (17 November), the Stormont Executive in Belfast voted to introduce mandatory vaccine passports in Northern Ireland from 29 November (legally enforceable from 13 December). These will cover theatres as well as other indoor and outdoor venues and the hospitality sector. Visitors will have to show proof of double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test from the last 48 hours or proof of a positive PCR test from the last 30 to 180 days (as evidence of natural immunity).

In Scotland, the Government has delayed a decision on extending its vaccine passport scheme until next Tuesday (23 November). We continue to work with colleagues in Scotland to push for theatres to be excluded from scope. Vaccine passports are mandatory for theatres in Wales as of this week.

Members can continue to find the latest guidance and advice for venues across the UK here. Please continue to share your thoughts and experiences of the new (or threatened) restrictions with our Public Affairs Manager, Christopher, at christopher@soltukt.co.uk.

New Year Sale – SOLT Members’ Exclusive
Today we announced the shows participating in Official London Theatre’s New Year Sale – please see the list here. Priority booking for Mastercard customers opens from 10am on Tuesday via Priceless.com, and our Access Priority Request Form opens tomorrow. General On Sale begins at 10am on Tuesday 7 December.

If your show would like to participate in the New Year Sale, you can still submit a participation form.

HSE Campaign – Working Minds 
Working Minds is a new HSE initiative to raise awareness about how to recognise and respond to the signs of stress and reminds employers of their legal duty to protect workers and support good mental health to help people to stay well. Work-related stress is now the number one cause of employee sickness absence, with major factors causing work-related stress including workload pressures – tight deadlines, too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.

Working with partner organisations, including Mind, Acas, Mates in Mind, Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Composites UK, the Homecare Association, the Farm Safety Foundation and Lifelines Scotland the HSE will provide businesses with practical tools and easy to implement advice. For more information about Working Minds, or to sign up as a campaign champion, visit the campaign website. 

International Distribution of Filmed Theatre Productions
The Department of International Trade are keen to identify performing arts organisations who have filmed stage productions and are a) keen to be introduced to international distributors and / or b) already have links with international distributors for their content.

If your organisation has digital content and would like to distribute to wider international markets (Indian cinema distributors in particular are keen to receive UK content) please contact david@soltukt.co.uk.

Spain waives short term visas for UK performers & technicians
Following sustained lobbying from colleagues in the music sector, in particular LIVE and the ABO, Spain has waived short term visa requirements for performers and crew for engagements up to 90 days.

Whilst Spain has not been identified as a key market for theatre producers in the EU, we are hoping to use this decision to build momentum to deliver change in other European markets and ease market access across for UK cultural and creative organisations and individuals.

Free webinar revealing survey results from ‘Missing Audiences’ in Northern Ireland
Indigo are hosting a follow up Insight Alliance webinar to deliver the Missing Audiences survey, focusing on the first wave of results gathered from audiences in Northern Ireland and how they compare with the UK as a whole. This research was designed to help organisations continue to put audiences at the heart of business planning and communications.

Register to attend the free webinar on Tuesday 23 November at 2pm here.

Greening Theatre Event – Thursday 2 December 2021 from 1–5pm at Bristol Old Vic
Theatre-makers and producers in the South West and Wales are invited to come together at Bristol Old Vic for an in person event to explore how we can reduce our environmental impact in response to the climate crisis. Attendance is free but booking essential as places are limited. 

This regional launch of the Theatre Green Book will discuss how the theatre sector collaborated to create this important new resource and how it can help us all work more sustainably. There will be a panel on Production Processes & Materials and one on Buildings, Operations & Touring.

The event also features a problem-solving “Green Theatre Question Time” session. Attendees will be able to share their current challenges so that solutions and suggestions can be crowdsourced from sustainable theatre experts and other participants.

A limited number of travel bursaries will be available for freelance practitioners and small-scale theatre companies located in Devon and Cornwall. These can be applied for upon booking.

For more information and to register, please visit the website. 

 

 
USEFUL RESOURCES

Coronavirus Recovery Guidance

Wellbeing and mental health support for you and your staff

Jobs & careers in the sector