For theatre, hope beckons after COVID-19

Despite being ravaged by COVID-19 with producers and actors licking their wounds, live theatre, according to panellists in a webinar, will rebound.

THOUGH COVID-19 has devastated Nigerian theatre, it will bounce back after the pandemic if players in the sector embrace innovative models.

This was the submission of panellists in a webinar themed ‘How to pivot your theatre business or practice in a socially distanced world’ organised by the Lagos Theatre Festival, last Saturday.

The contributors were Director of Programmes, British Council, Ojoma Ochai; Head of Productions, National Theatre, Wales, David Evans; Executive Director, Tech Circle, Osita Nwoye; producer and actor, Toritseju Ejoh; General Manager, Terra Kulture, Joseph Umoibom, and CEO, South African State Theatre, Dr Sibongiseni Mkhize.

Producer of Lagos Theatre Festival (LTF), Omoye Uzamere moderated. Executive and Artistic Directors of the LTF, Bikiya Graham-Douglas and Lydia Idakula-Sobogun hosted the illuminating two-hour session.

Drawing from lessons learnt from Terra Kulture’s streaming of ‘Moremi the Musical’ on YouTube, Umoibom said people could be brought to the theatre online. He, however, noted that a producer choosing to go that route must have a massive database of patrons/audiences. The producer of ‘Moremi The Musical’ also warned against disconnecting from the audience for a long time, noting that it would be difficult to rebuild.

He cited the sold-out drive-in theatre show held in Abuja later that evening to reiterate the importance of outside the box thinking and large market that exists for theatre. “The challenge is how to package so that you deliver quality products. You should factor in your online market right from inception,” Umoibom further advised.

On his part, Ejoh of the Park Theatre believes that theatre will need to embrace technology going forward. He noted that just like theatre survived the Spanish Flu, it would survive COVID-19 with technology as a significant enabler. He disclosed he had a packed schedule until March 2021, but all the shows were cancelled because of the disease. He added that his previous plays didn’t resonate with COVID and that he settled for a newer version of ‘Trials of Brother Jero’ after deciding to use technology.

The play, Ejoh further explained, was to highlight fake news. But being that it wasn’t live theatre, he had several technical rehearsals before staging the production online. “We had 78 people in the Zoom room,” he disclosed about the production that featured himself and Olarotimi Fakunle. Ejoh added that a majority of creatives he knows have started churning out content online but that the challenge remains to monetise them and the considerable cost of data.

“I want to do more productions [online] but who pays for data? Who pays actors. Nobody is monetising content online, and we need to be looking towards that direction,” he said.

On South Africa’s theatre experience with COVID-19, Mkhize said although they were fully booked, with a famous dance festival in the offing,  players stopped shows after an address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the pandemic.

The saving grace, according to him, is that the State Theatre began recording its shows in 2013. “The archives are coming handy now. We launched an online program last week and are working on the monetisation part. It’s going to be trial and error for most people. It’s been a challenge; devastating even but there are also opportunities. We must ensure we grab those opportunities. The human spirit always soars above adversity. We need to be creative, innovative, and everywhere, we are working to ensure long-term sustainability,” he said.

Sharing the UK experience, Evans explained that COVID-19 was particularly devastating for both the country and theatre. Though the government had the furlough option where people got about 80 per cent of their salaries, most players in the theatre didn’t because they are freelancers. Producers, therefore, had to start creating elements of works so that people could earn something.

He disclosed that the Welsh National Theatre agreed to fund some freelancers to work together and that dance masterclasses amongst others moved online so that people could make money.

Evans added that people were developing new skills and that though the  UK is opening its economy, audiences won’t return until they are confident COVID has been tamed.

For Ochai, players in the theatre space need to find ways of monetising digital platforms to cope with structural changes the pandemic brought. She noted how 2013’s SARs boosted the rise of e-commerce and that the changes are “inevitabilities that we need to accept. Even if social distancing ends, there are many opportunities we have to explore.”

Continuing, Ochai who referenced Micahel Kaizer’s ‘Curtains? The Future of the Arts in America’ that predicts that midsized performing arts institutions will have all but evaporated by 2035,  said the stakeholders have the ball in their courts to avert his prediction.

“Can we stimulate a new set of givers? Develop a model that doesn’t rely on paying audience.  The truth is if we were not supported pre-COVID, we wouldn’t be after the pandemic. We need to be pragmatic. How can we make new models work and quickly too,” said Ochai, who also affirmed the importance of a database of audiences.

Nwoye’s take was that people need to understand the importance of the arts. He explained that patrons need to pay subscriptions/dues and get values in return. “People want to see what’s happening behind the scene. People can pay to talk to an actor or stage manager. Artists and theatre need to build their audiences. There should be a database, and everything can be built upon this. People can also build their platforms to cut third parties,” he said.

Responding to the moderator’s question on measures put in place to support artists,  Mhkhize said South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture has a 150 million rands relief fund.

“It is very little and causing problems. If I were a practising artist, I would say things are dire, and the reason is that theatre, artists have not been declared as essential services. How do we assist the sector, so it doesn’t die? If we are not seen as contributing to the economy, we’ll always be relegated to the back of the queue. There are some efforts from our government, but it’s not  enough.”

Offering her take on the same issue, Ochai noted that Nigeria’s private sector was already assisting the industry alongside public institutions like the CBN. She also referenced the COVID-19 Committee set up by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed as well as a similar body constituted by the Lagos State Government.

But all these, she maintained, was not enough and that players need collective action as well as engaging with more people. She also cited partnerships with IT experts and having governing boards to ensure transparency in their operations.

Ejoh applauded the Federal and Lagos State initiatives and added that having a grant that theatre artists can draw from would be beneficial. He also suggested that artists collaborate more with the government.

Umoibom recommended suspension of interests on loans and grants. He also advised the artists to keep their books well and have structured businesses because “it’s unstructured businesses that don’t allow people to apply for grants.”

The organiser of the Brighton Fringe Festival, England, Julian Caddy, said the pandemic decimated the event and that they, like others, are “facing a massive black hole.”  Going forward, he said they have decided to move some activities online. “We are going to be selling digital tickets from the next edition alongside real tickets,” Caddy disclosed while expressing worry about the feasibility of digital shows.

“It relies on the quality of the connection and recording. I’m not sure we’ll see a way out of it [COVID-19]for at least 18 months. The online facility would have to be vastly improved,” he said.

Contributing, actress Joke Silva and Chair of the Lagos State Palliative Committee for Entertainment and Hospitality, said it had been a learning curve for everyone.

She then advised her colleagues to structure their businesses to benefit from interventions.  “Our Committee is trying to see how the government can intervene in beneficial ways to practitioners in the industry. That’s why we came up with a questionnaire, but a lot of us are unstructured, and this makes it difficult for anyone to intervene. We also need to embrace digital platforms because it’s a good way of reaching audiences,” she said.

A few more contributions were taken before the webinar ended with a vote of thanks from Creative Director of the LTF, Lydia Ibekula-Sobogun.

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