Julian Bird: ‘We’re about to see an impetus towards outdoor theatre’

Hold on to your hats. After a new year lull in the fevered commentary and speculation surrounding when theatres will reopen, this month looks set to see a return to business as usual – or at least the kind of “usual” with which we became familiar last year, when every week yielded surprises, causes for hope and concern, and another dramatic twist.

The theatre industry has its eyes fixed on the big date of February 22, when the Prime Minister has promised to unveil his roadmap out of England’s national lockdown. When that announcement comes, there’s one person in particular to whom the sector will turn, in terms of unpacking what it means and what the next steps are going to be.

As joint chief executive of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, the two main bodies representing and championing theatre in the capital and beyond, Julian Bird has been pivotal in theatreland since his appointment 10 years ago. Usually his diary would be filled with opening nights, travel, public engagements and meetings with affiliated members – producers, theatre owners, artistic directors – as well as with the Government and City Hall.

Since the pandemic, however, he has become a far more frenetic and indispensable figure, liaising around the clock with the Government and engaging with every aspect of the theatrical ecosystem. Countless people, it must be said, have swung into action since last March; some, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, have stepped into makeshift leadership roles, while others have worked away behind the scenes. But Bird, 46, is a unique linchpin: his efforts have helped to secure the Culture Recovery Fund, the establishing of protocols for Covid-secure reopenings and the Theatre Artists Fund, jointly set up with Sam Mendes to assist stricken theatreworkers.

History will remember him as the man who had to bring the curtain down on shows across the UK on March 16, after the Prime Minister’s televised news conference, which ushered in the theatre sector’s longest period of closure since the Cromwell era and the subsequent outbreaks of plague. “I never want to be in a situation where I have to do that again. It was horrific.”

Confusion reigned at the start, and has done intermittently since, and now uncertainty appears to be this year’s watchword. This means that a key facet of Bird’s modus operandi is his clarity: although he speaks fluently and rapidly, he chooses his words with care. It’s testament, too, to his background in banking: having studied economics at Exeter, he worked at the Bank of England in 1995, then spent nine years at the Financial Services Authority, moving into the arts as chief operating officer at the Tate in 2007.

Speaking from his London home, via Zoom, he sets out what’s known at this stage. “While we wait for the unveiling of the roadmap, we’re talking all around the Government, trying to get the lie of the land. All the messaging is about caution. It seems we will go back into some form of restrictions – it may be tiering. The speed of de-restriction is reliant on the science – the levels of vaccination and whether those vaccinated can still transmit the virus. So we’re some months away from the start of any theatrical activity, and some further months away from that before we get to that nirvana state of full audiences.”

Bird is holding out hope for activity in the late spring. The openings, as and when they come, will be staggered. “Different theatres will take different decisions. Some will open as quickly as they can, others will take their time. As I was discussing with various civil servants last week, nothing has fundamentally changed – the major productions still need four to six months to get back up and running.”

One thing we can look forward to is the blossoming of al-fresco theatre. “I know of theatres up and down the country that are looking at their real estate and going: ‘What could we do outdoors?’ We’ll see an impetus towards outdoor theatre over the warmer months.”

That’s a long way away from the optimistic assumptions, pre-Christmas, of a theatrical resurrection around Easter. He nods: “We were absolutely on the trajectory of being able to open, to have every seat on sale in auditoria by April and Easter this year, before these new variants came in.” There was consternation within and outside the profession when it emerged at year’s end that the pathway towards a burgeoning of activity was a dead-end. The Palladium pantomime, the staged concert of Les Misérables and Six the Musical were among those to fall foul of the rapid shutdowns.

Bird says he understands the fury that ensued at the time. “But I think that has dissipated, because people have understood that the variant was a game-changer. And ministers were keen to see us reopen. It was encouraged by them and we’d done months of work to get us to that point. The producers and theatres took the hit – it cost millions. The big question, given that there’s still no insurance at the moment, is how many producers will be willing to take that risk in the future. That we don’t know yet, but ‘fewer and fewer’ will be the answer.”

Does he think Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, is doing a good job? “No one has ever had to face this situation. I would pay huge credit to the officials at DCMS who are working seven days a week, they’re extraordinary. Politicians make political decisions. It’s the job of people like me to argue the case for our sector.”

But, he adds, “on things such as support for freelancers, it’s hard to understand why there hasn’t been more movement over the past 10 months. When you put tragic real-life examples in huge quantities in front of some of those politicians, it’s hard to understand why we don’t get a more empathetic response.”

Instead of the March anniversary of the first lockdown being a fanfare for the West End’s reopening, Bird anticipates that it’ll provide a vital opportunity to highlight the plight of those left without support. “That’s what keeps me awake at night at the moment – we have tens of thousands of freelancers who are on the breadline. I know of some who are having to sell their belongings, because they haven’t got enough money to pay their bills. No one wants to see anybody in that situation.”

After staying buoyant during last year’s upheavals, the latest lockdown has hit him hard. “I’ve had more tough moments so far than in the whole of 2020. The sense that here we are again, having the same conversations. ‘When can we open?’ ‘What financial support do we need?’ It genuinely feels like Groundhog Day.” Should social distancing need to remain in force through the summer and beyond, more money to support the sector will need to be found, but Bird won’t get drawn into a speculation on sums.

“People around the Government briefing newspapers about what might happen in the future is not helpful for an industry that has hundreds of thousands of people desperate to know when they can go back to work. That remains something that should not be happening. All it does is produce huge levels of uncertainty. The communication should, first of all, be with us, in terms of trying to plan how we go forward.”

And on that note, Whitehall beckons, and I leave him to fight the good fight.