Freedom Day (as Boris Johnson has called it) will see all COVID-related legal restrictions on arts venues lifted, but the Society of London Theatres and UK Theatre will continue to "strongly encourage" all audience members to mask up. - WhatsOnStage (London)
This remains true, with big financial and other consequences: "Why does this matter? For a start, it narrows men’s experiences of the world." - The Guardian (UK)
With pandemic limitations in mind, as of early July, the overall domestic box office has reached $1.05 billion in ticket sales, down 42.3% from 2020 and down 81.3% from 2019. - Variety
The European box office plunged 70.4 percent last year, down $6.04 billion (5.1 billion euro) from $8.5 billion (7.2 billion euro) in 2019 to $2.5 billion (2.1 billion euro). - The Hollywood Reporter
That's the conclusion of a new report from the Pew Research Center. Results for last year in particular were that terrestrial public radio listenership was down a bit, public TV audience was up quite a bit, and podcasts keep growing. - Inside Radio
About six weeks after announcing that, as a COVID safety measure, it would eliminate intermissions when it resumes live performances — and just over a month after critic Chris Jones issued the cry "Let the people pee without missing a note!" — the company has reversed course. - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
The show has just arrived on Peacock, but it was a hit before that, garnering about 750,000 viewers for its season 2 opener as the super prestigey Mare of Easttown got 1 million viewers. "Take it from a critic and a Christian with an aversion to Christian entertainment: The show is good. I’d stop short of calling The Chosen a prestige...
Of course they didn't, even if some of them believed their work deserved that rating. "It’s easy to forget that for most of them at the time, their work was a risk – to create art in the way they felt was right, they needed to make personal and financial sacrifices." - The Guardian (UK)
Italy was the first to lock down, and one of the hardest lockdowns. "Now most of Italy is in a 'white zone,' and museums can operate at their full summer schedule. Still, on a Saturday, I counted four other visitors to the most anticipated show of the year in Rome: 'The Torlonia Marbles: Collecting Masterpieces,' at the Capitoline, showcasing...
"Andrew Lloyd Webber and other impresarios said on Thursday they had started legal action to press Britain's government to publish research into the safety of holding indoor events during the pandemic. A joint statement from , also including Cameron Mackintosh and Sonia Friedman, said the industry had repeatedly urged the government to spell out its reasons for keeping restrictions...
"The Atlanta-based TCM has long been the sanctuary of classic film on TV, presenting mostly pre-1980 movies commercial-free with a deep respect for moviemaking history going back to the silent film era. … TCM also appeals to an older audience that is more likely to hold onto its cable subscription than younger viewers who quickly adapted to streaming platforms....
"With state-based funding for the regional theatre system, we could return to a repertory model with full-time employment for actors and serve our local audiences better than a national program ever could. In doing so, we could establish a secure, socially just work environment for the American theatre artists of the 21st century." - American Theatre
Screen nausea and social media compulsions are no joke, but the current self-loathing about the long year of screen time is misplaced. It was not lost time. - Wired
