Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has confirmed that, despite the 10pm curfew time for hospitality venues set by the Prime Minister this afternoon, theatres and cinemas are exceptions to this rule.

Dowden said in a tweet: “10pm closing time: This will apply across a range of hospitality and leisure sectors including casinos. It will not apply to theatres and cinemas where performances may run over the 10pm deadline”.

It has been said however, that amateur performances going forward will no longer be permitted unless there are six cast members or less.

Although theatres were not directly mentioned in Boris Johnson’s speech at the House of Commons earlier, there is still the ongoing threat to our venues, particularly with the furlough scheme ending at the end of October.

Now the current restrictions are looking likely to last another six months at least, sadly this will mean that many theatres will not be able to re-open fully in the near future.