Live theatre is finally returning to a popular venue which was left struggling in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Diss Corn Hall will host one-woman show ‘Power’ on Thursday, October 8, the first time the theatre has featured a stage performance for seven months.
In line with government regulations, the Corn Hall was forced to shut in March as lockdown swept the nation.
With its reliance on box office sales, the entertainment venue’s survival looked in doubt until widespread public funding for the industry was eventually announced in July.
In August the Corn Hall held an outdoor show and has been hosting sporadic events at its St Nicholas Street home including live talks and film screenings.
Ahead of welcoming back theatre-goers, operations manager Lee Johnson said: “Getting shows back on and people back in is so important because it keeps the building alive.
“With social distancing the maximum we can hold is 89 and, if you are worried about Covid, that is quite a lot of people to be mixing with.
“What has been great is people saying they feel really comfortable coming into the building, and they can see the amount of work we’ve done to be Covid-compliant.
“But nobody has said they are uncomfortable or unhappy, and that is great for our volunteers to hear.”
Power is the brainchild of Charmaine Childs, who has almost 20 years of performing experience behind her as a circus strong lady.
Using circus physicality and verbal storytelling, the 41-year-old’s show premiered in Huddersfield last week - almost six months later than scheduled.
Ms Childs, who worked on Power with Diss director, Emma Barnard, said: “This is the longest I haven’t performed since my early-20s and it is such a relief to finally be getting in front of an audience again.
“Before this, I didn’t realise quite how much my sense of being in the world was about connecting with strangers.
“The concept of Power is how we can feel powerful, even in an uncertain world. A lot of people didn’t realise how much uncertainty bothered them, but it has been made so much clearer over the past few months.
“I’m so happy to be doing the show now because I feel like it is doing an important job.”
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