By Press Association 2021
Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin with their best original song Oscar at the 92nd Academy Awards
The world of showbiz was put to the test in 2020, as the film, TV, music and theatre industries faced challenges no-one could have foreseen thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Live performances were hit as the country faced lockdown in March, with theatres, cinemas and music venues closed, and TV and film productions also affected.
However, there were no signs of what was to come as the year kicked off in its usual starry way, with awards season in full swing.
UK Extends COVID-19 Insurance Scheme For Film And Television
KEY POINTS
The U.K. will extend the country s insurance scheme for film and television until April 2021
The scheme will provide financial assistance to projects that incurred losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Actors who are 70 and above will receive compensation if the production is halted due to the global health crisis
The U.K. government has announced that it will be extending the country’s insurance scheme for film and television until April 2021.
The decision was made after the entertainment industry in the region suffered huge losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Variety reported. The initiative, which is known as the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, comprises a £500 million ($676 million) fund to assure that production houses and projects will receive financial assistance in case of COVID-related losses.
Rachel Brosnahan may be American, but she believes a little bit of her funny bone is British.
Brosnahan is famous for The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Amazon Prime s smash comedy hit in which she plays New Yorker Midge, the perfect housewife from the Upper West Side who becomes a Downtown stand-up (specialising in mocking men) after her marriage breaks up.
Brosnahan s feature film choices have been astute, too. Check her out as Jean, first seen lounging in a magenta negligee (above) in director Julia Hart s superbly plotted 1970s set crime thriller I m Your Woman.
Written with Jordan Horowitz, a producer of La La Land, it also features a fine performance from London s Arinze Kene, making his Hollywood film debut.
When will London’s West End shows reopen? Dates for Frozen, Six the Musical, The Lion King and more Jessie Thompson
Since last March, the answer to the popular question ‘do you hear the people sing?’ has been a very firm ‘no’. The closures forced on the theatre world by the coronavirus pandemic mean some of London’s most popular West End shows, from Les Mis to Mamma Mia!, have been out of action since last year.
However, after several false starts, theatres finally have a ‘no earlier than’ opening date of May 17 as part of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown. This means that producers can now start planning with more confidence to get the West End and beyond up and running again. It’s no easy feat: large scale productions with big casts and lots of backstage crew are not easy to remount quickly. But with the vaccine programme now being rolled out, there’s hope that theatres may be able to get back to relative normality before the year is
Hamilton have set their sights on May 2021 reopening dates. Both productions hail from Cameron Mackintosh (along with Disney Theatrical Productions on the former and Jeffrey Seller on the latter), who s been a vocal proponent of pushing to reopen theatres at full capacity to ensure financial viability. Both had announced they
Mary Poppins is aiming for a May 22 return at the Prince Edward Theatre, while
Hamilton hopes to get back to work a week earlier, reopening May 15.
The
Mary Poppins company at the time of the shutdown included Zizi Strallen as the title nanny opposite Charlie Stemp as Bert (both earned Olivier Awards for their performances). Rounding out the cast were Joseph Millson as George Banks, Petula Clark as the Bird Woman, Amy Griffiths as Winifred Banks, Claire Moore as Miss Andrew, Claire Machin as Mrs. Brill, Jack North as Robertson Ay, and Barry James as Bank Chairman and Admiral Boom.