Burnham-On-Sea’s Princess Theatre was lit up in red on Wednesday evening (September 30th) in solidarity for those in the event industry affected by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
The theatre in Burnham’s Princess Street was illuminated, as pictured here, as part of the nationwide ‘Light it up in Red’ campaign.
Talking to Burnham-On-Sea.com, Beccy Armory, the theatre’s Business Development Officer, said: “We are here to highlight the plight of the arts.”
“We are lacking in funding and so many theatre freelancers and workers are out of jobs.”
“They’re going to continue to be like that until we will receive funding from the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.”
“The Princess Theatre was lit up in red to show our solidarity for this international campaign.”
“I think you’ll agree the building looks absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately we’re not open, like many other theatres, and we want people to understand that this pandemic has seriously affected many individuals.”
Burnham-On-Sea.com recently reported here that Burnham’s theatre will not re-open before January at the earliest, having been shut since March.
The ‘Light It In Red’ campaign is a UK based direct action lighting initiative that aims to draw attention to the critical condition of the UK live event and entertainment industry and its need for special government support to see it through to re-starting.
A spokesman for Light It In Red says: “Our industry is important and contributes billions of pounds each year to the UK economy. Due to COVID-19 it needs immediate help. We want our future to continue to create millions of memories with the stories to match – it’s what we do best.”
“Without significant and immediate support the entire live events sector supply chain is at risk of collapse. The UK lit 700+ buildings, structures and homes in red on August 11th and we would like to increase this number on September 30th.”
“Red has always signified ‘stand by’ in theatre, we are standing by to go back to work. It now also signifies we are at red alert. We stand as one as we highlight the need for support if the live events industry is to survive.”
