The entertainment industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis and Bolton’s Octagon Theatre has been fighting for its survival. But despite the financial toll of the pandemic, the theatre has adapted to new ways of performance and remains optimistic for the future, reports LIV CLARKE.

LAST week the newly-refurbished Octagon Theatre was lit up in red as a mark of solidarity with the struggling arts industry.

Unlike other sectors which have been gradually able to reopen, arts and culture ­— particularly live entertainment events ­— have had to remain closed.

This has cost the Octagon Theatre more than £1million in lost productions, and forced the venue launch a fundraising campaign or face closure.

The theatre, which underwent a £12million refurbishment this year, is set to open in December, thanks to generous donations from the public.

Roddy Gauld, the Chief Executive of the Octagon, said: “All the productions we have had to cancel have cost us £1.3million in income. Obviously we have had to make adjustments.

“Our fundraising made a big difference and so did the furlough scheme.

“We raised over £60,000 and we are still accepting donations. We’ve also launched a membership scheme which costs as little as £3 a month.

“Everyone has been wonderfully generous and we thank The Bolton News readers for their donations.

“Last week was the global We Make Events campaign, we took part in by lighting up the theatre in red.

“It covers the whole industry from theatres, to music events to festivals and highlights all the infrastructure and employment which is behind this industry.

“As long as there are restrictions in place these industries won’t be able to fully reopen.

“There is a huge amount of pressure to survive and extreme financial distress for these venues."

The Government provided a £1.57billion support packaged for the arts and culture sector, which includes, museums, galleries and concert halls.

But the Octagon boss says that is just a "small fraction" of the £10.8bn that the sector is worth to the UK economy.

He said: “I feel that the government could have done more if they had wanted to. There have been delays in decisions too."

The Office for National Statistics recently said that out of the three hardest-hit industries ­— travel, hospitality and the arts ­— the arts was worst off.

And Mr Gauld believes the Government could have adopted a more flexible furlough scheme which would have taken into account when industries would reopen.

He added: "Hospitality has been hit particularly hard in Bolton and I feel we have quite a bit in common with them.

“However, it is different for our industry. Normally we have to run at 75 per cent of capacity in order to cover costs.

“When we open in December we will have to operate at 25 per cent capacity. So social distancing for us is not just physical issue but a financial one.

“The rise in infections in the last few weeks does make it tougher in terms of reopening, but our priority will always be safety.

“We are not getting the support we need as an industry. I can foresee a really tough period going on into next year.

“Already we are seeing other venues go into administration. We are fighting really hard in Bolton for survival.”

The theatre has had to find alternative ways of producing theatre during the pandemic.

Last month they put on a virtual performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Mr Gauld said: “The digital performance went really well.

“In fact we had people watch it from all over the country and across the world.

“That was a first for us and I’m really thrilled at how that went.

"We are constantly looking at ways of keeping people engaged in theatre.

“We are determined that we will be back. It will be different, but as a team we have an attitude of positive realism. I absolutely believe that our audiences will want to come back when we are open again.

“Our redevelopment is coming to an end and Bolton Council and the Arts Council England have invested heavily in us. Over the next few weeks we will be making announcements about our reopening plans.

“I am hopeful for the future and I think the appetite for live entertainment will be even stronger.

“We have been here for over 50 years and we plan on remaining open in Bolton for generations to come.”