By Steffan Donnelly
Theatre and entertainment venues can host indoor regulated gatherings with up to 30 people inside in Wales at the moment and will be able to take groups of six people from six households. Some venues are planning small scale summer events, with the hope that this number will be raised. There’ll another review and update on 15 July. Many events are going to be taking place outdoors over summer, the rules for outdoor gatherings is up to 10,000 people sitting or 4,000 standing.
From a personal perspective, I’m directing an outdoor show for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru next month and confirming venues has been last minute because of uncertainty around numbers and how possible it will be to host events.
In terms of Government support, applications to the third round of Welsh Government’s Freelance Fund is being processed now, giving £2,500 directly to freelancers in need. it’s taking quite a while and that could be down to how much smaller this pot is, £4m, compared to the last two rounds which were more than double that. There are complaints from the sector that CRF2 is very slow in being rolled out.