Arts fans feel confident about the measures being put in place by theatres for their return to live entertainment, a survey has shown.
Around 1,200 of almost 5,000 respondents had already seen a live cultural event since theatres and museums started to reopen, and most felt confident about continuing.
Researchers from the Insights Alliance – consultants Indigo Ltd, One Further and Baker Richards – said almost 90 per cent of the respondents planned to attend at least as often as before the coronavirus pandemic, happy with the anti-Covid measures being taken to ensure the public’s safety.
Last week theatres pointed out their dismay over harsher government tier restrictions and theatre closures in the light of not a single case of coronavirus being knowingly spread by those visiting theatres in the last couple of months.
Around three-quarters of those questioned would “feel uncomfortable” about having to rely on rapid testing on arrival at a theatre as a way of allowing admission without a mask or social distancing, which is what the Prime Minister has suggested.
The survey took place (in October) before the second lockdown and imposition of more stringent tier-based restrictions, so how these might change the view of respondents is unclear.
Some fans – though only just over 20 per cent – are waiting for a vaccine before daring to venture back into close-contact spaces such as theatres and cinemas. Loyal audiences are willing to return before this.