THEATRES could be kitted out with body temperature cameras and self-cleaning door handles in a futuristic plan to be reviewed by ministers. Musical writing legend Andrew Lloyd Webber is spearheading efforts to bring in high-tech fixes so venues can open their doors again quickly. The solution is being inspired by South Korea – the only […]
THEATRES could be kitted out with body temperature cameras and self-cleaning door handles in a futuristic plan to be reviewed by ministers.
Musical writing legend Andrew Lloyd Webber is spearheading efforts to bring in high-tech fixes so venues can open their doors again quickly.
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The solution is being inspired by South Korea – the only country in the world where his hit show the Phantom of the Opera is still playing.
Lord Lloyd Webber plans to show off the top of the line tech to Government officials at the start of next month.
In a live trial at the London Palladium all members of the audience and actors will be tracked by thermal cameras for any signs of a temperature.
Doors will be coated with a special bacteria killing compound, and everyone will be disinfected with an antiviral “fog” that lasts 30 days.
The measures would mean there is no social distancing, which Lord Lloyd Webber said is “impossible in the theatre”.
The 72-year-old writer, who has told Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden of his plan, told the BBC: “We want to be able to demonstrate that this can work.
He said the theatre industry would “use everything we can to demonstrate we can open” and that “if having done that we fail, at least we’ve tried”.
Lord Lloyd Webber said he had even seen draft government advice circulated to the industry warning singing could be banned in future performances.
Early guidelines, which were not shaped by ministers, include limits on choir numbers and mandatory social distancing for orchestras.
But it is understood Mr Dowden accepts the huge barriers such restrictions would pose to theatres reopening.
The Culture Secretary has announced he’ll sit down with artists and medical experts next week to thrash out a realistic “roadmap” for the industry.
Officials have admitted getting the arts back up and running is proving more problematic than other areas of public entertainment like sport.
Four hit West End musicals, including Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, have already been pulled for the rest of the year.
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