The Show Must Go On

After a lot of checking of the latest regulations, it was confirmed that we could carry on rehearsing for next year’s Panto.
Pretty much the same as it was before the second lockdown - keep two metres apart at all times, plenty of sanitising and no “social mingling” (i.e. no standing in groups chatting whilst not actually on stage rehearsing!)
As it happened, not really a problem today as there were quite a few cast members missing for a variety of reasons. Actually, this is quite normal for December rehearsals, but the difference in previous years is that we would only be a few weeks away from opening night so there would be more of a sense of panic!
No such problems today and everybody quite happy to read in when required - in fact, of the three people in the photo, only one of them was actually playing the correct part!
On the plus side, some of the scenery has been built during the last lockdown. The entrance to Hardup Hall is in the picture, but we also saw sone impressive kitchen scenery where everything was duplicated (oven, fridge, etc) so that the cooking scene can be performed safely under current Covid guidelines. It’s all easily movable as well, because we have to be conscious of not having too many people around backstage. We might even have to ask actors to move their own scenery (God help us!!)
Still uncertain as to whether or not we will be able to perform in front of an audience come March, but we have to carry on for now believing it will be possible. Worst case scenario is that we have to abandon for 2021 and hope everyone is available for 2022. I guess it’s all going to come down to how infections / hospitalisations / vaccinations pan out over the next couple of months to determine whether the restrictions can be eased.