Has been in the situation before, my partner, and he is sadly used to it. Lockdown restrictions continue to be eased around the uk. The five mile travel restriction is lifted in wales, in Northern Ireland nail bars and tattoo parlours can reopen and well be live in a bar in scotland in the next half an hour. The Online Fashion retailer boohoo says it will investigate one of its suppliers following reports of working conditions and pay at its leicester factory. Well be speaking to the deputy city mayor of leicester this hour. Music the good, the bad, and the ugly theme and the great Ennio Morricone one of hollywoods most iconic film score composers dies at the age of 91. Good afternoon. The audience loved it it had urgency, understanding, and sympathy and, most importantly, it had money £1. 5 billion of it. The governments support package for the arts industry has been broadly welcomed by a sector which has been ravaged by the covid pandemic. The money will come in the form of grants and loans. But its come too late for some Theatre Companies and their staff and theres concern about exactly where the money will go with calls for regional theatres to be made a priority. Freelancers in the industry also say they need more help. And most importantly, all of those involved in the arts want to know when they can open again. Heres our arts editor, will gompertz. Theatres, music venues, cinemas and museums across the country have been brought to their knees by the covid 19 pandemic, with many saying they will be bankrupt within weeks without emergency government support. That arrived today with oliver dowden, the culture secretary, announcing a £1. 57 billion rescue package for the culture and heritage sector. We had set out these clear criteria to protect the so called crown jewels, the things that really define us as a nation nationally and internationally, but secondly, and just as important to me and to the government, is protecting those little local venues, whether that is the theatre or the gallery which is often the only place people can go to to access culture, it is just as important to protect that. The announcement has been warmly welcomed by many arts leaders, who say they can now see a way for their organisations to survive at least until the spring. Of the total amount, £270 million will be made available as loans, with the rest, the vast majority, coming in the form of grants. Watching over the last few months the industry crumble, at the point when we didnt think we were going to get any funding, it was really very, very frightening for me, for everybody in the industry, because you dont know where to go next, and if you think, oh, this is the career i love, this is what i am passionate about, if it is going to stop, completely out of your control, you know, it is a horrible thing, so the news last night is just extremely amazing. As ever, the devil is likely to be in the detail. The government has not specified how the money will be divided, nor how the application process will work. There are likely to be many winners, but the money has come too late for some venues that have already been forced to close, while others only just clinging on to the hope of a post pandemic return. With me is chris sharp the owner and director of the fleece in bristol which has had performances from oasis, blur, radiohead, pj harvey, Amy Winehouse amongst others. Also im joined by lauren walsh, a Production Assistant for the Theatre Royal plymouth, which confirmed around 100 jobs are at risk at end ofjune. Thank you forjoining us. Chris, it isa thank you forjoining us. Chris, it is a lot of money, you are going to be asking if you will see any of it. Yes, absolutely. It is great news. The end of last week, we had zero. This is exactly what i need. 29 of my staff are furloughed at the moment and i was worried they would lose theirjob in a few months. As they all say, the devil is in the detail and we are waiting to see how it is going to be distributed. As far as government action, the fa ct as far as government action, the fact that the fellow scheme was brought in her safety for the moment, is that right . Yes, in regards to the last few months, we get 18,000 a month, 29 staff furloughed currently. That was really essential. Its been worried and knowing it is going to stop, we spend £1000 a week on rent. Since the 14th of march we have had no income. Its like falling off a cliff, basically. Independent music venues like yours are often important and often overlooked. Venues like yours are often important and often overlookedlj venues like yours are often important and often overlooked. I do not see us opening this year, we are a crowd based business. The profit comes in the last 20 of capacity. Social distancing in venues like this, we are not a social distancing in venues like this, we are nota pub, we are social distancing in venues like this, we are not a pub, we are a music venue, all the walls are painted black to make the lights work, you cannot have people sucked on her having a beer,. It is looking so on her having a beer,. It is looking so far away until we can actually open, this is exactly what we need to get us through to that point, if it comes through to us. Lauren, implements, you have been a theatrical assistant since 2018, in plymouth. I guess you are still worried about your job in plymouth. I guess you are still worried about yourjob but in plymouth. I guess you are still worried about your job but there in plymouth. I guess you are still worried about yourjob but there is 110w worried about yourjob but there is now hope . There is. The announcement has been quite bittersweet. It is great, but people have been campaigning for this pretty tight so it is great to feel that has been listening to. I think there certain people for some similar situations are mine, you cant help but feel it is a bit too late. Some organisations have already folded. I wonder that we have to apply for this as well, how long it will take. To projectjobs, time is of the essence. I think like everyone else and, it is in the details on how long it will take to come through. |j think you are in discussion about possible redundancy. Are you freelance . I was staff, possible redundancy. Are you freelance . Iwas staff, i am possible redundancy. Are you freelance . I was staff, i am at risk of redundancy at the moment. Have you spoken to anybody else who has managed to say, this might make things all right . I think, managed to say, this might make things all right . Ithink, at managed to say, this might make things all right . I think, at the moment, it is all hands on deck, figuring out what we are going to do. At the moment, i still do not really know what is happening without. I think it will be in the next few days, once the detail come so next few days, once the detail come so that we find that out. The most difficult thing, lauren, you do not know when you will be reopening. No, i think without any dates on the road map, it is impossible for organisations to plan for the future. You cannot plan your finances if you have no idea when more money will be coming in. Chris, this is something that you are facing is well, itsjust this is something that you are facing is well, its just how well it works when you do reopen. It is going to be a very different place, isnt it . I dont think how we can reopen with any kind of social distancing. We need. Sold out gigs cover the losses on gigs that do badly, even if we can only sell to tutors capacity, they are all going to go to the front, it wont work. We are waiting for the end of this. We are waiting for the end of this. We are waiting for the end of this. We are one of the few industries where there is no middle ground, we have to wait until it is over and that could be a long time, which is why this grant is so essential. Im just looking behind you at the stage, established 1982, and you are hoping this is not the gate that they are going to right next to that. Absolutely, yeah. Once you have played there over the years, it is an iconic venue, a breeding ground for such talent. We had george ezra here in front of 30 people and then he was in front of glastonbury. Lauren, in terms of the theatre, anybody will be asking, how can it possibly work, given the positioning of the stage, the seats being so close together, and the point has been made, if you think about pantomimes, everyone is laughing, thatis pantomimes, everyone is laughing, that is going to cause huge problems in terms of spreading the virus . |j think its what you have to look at the backstage things as well. There isa the backstage things as well. There is a lot of going on back there which will be impossible to do social distance. Performance as well, certain scenes that will require them to be close together and theatre, much like the music venues, is reliant on high capacity to break even. I think the whole social distancing thing is unlikely to work for tetra as well. Do you think this industry can bounce back . Yes, i think it can. I think there is so much that theatre does that is notjust think there is so much that theatre does that is not just the performances on the stage as well, community outreach, workshops, all of that stuff has been ticking along continually throughout the lockdown, whether that is in care packages being sent to people. There is still a need for it and i think it will act about, it may have shrunk in scale. The problem with that, lauren, there are many people like you starting on whatton is an amazing career, as you hope it is, i know it has been quite hard work for you to get where you are, you must just be wondering what life holds. Yes, i think the arts has been a competitor industry to get into, but i think if theres fewer that makes it all the more difficult, particularly for people from marginalised backgrounds. There is the idea that you pay for free work for free and pay your dues for a while. I hope this do not worsen the situation. I hope it means a real building and a change that makes that less likely. Chris, we have heard a lot about rent and people having problems covering that, what sort of relationship to people have with landlords . Is the understanding out there . No. My landlord is bristol city council, it has quadrupled four yea rs city council, it has quadrupled four years ago, we are about the threshold for the grant, for the £25,000 grant. I did write to the council asking for a rent free period. Unfortunately, we are not told