The Haymarket theatre. LIVE theatre will return to Basingstoke next month after a year away due to the Covid pandemic. The Haymarket will play host to the town s first performance since March 2020 at the start of June as lockdown restrictions continue to ease, when John Lyons stars in whodunnit Father Brown - The Murderer in the Mirror. Boris Johnson confirmed earlier this week that theatres would be able to reopen from May 17 with socially-distanced, limited capacity performances. It comes after a tumultuous year for the arts industry both nationwide and in the town. Performances at the Anvil and Haymarket were stopped in March just before the Prime Minister announced the first lockdown, and earlier this year the council announced that it would be cutting funding for Anvil Arts, the charity that runs performances across the town s two theatres.