Little did I know, sitting in a theatre enjoying a show by Cwmni Theatr Fran Wen on the 5th March 2020 that I was watching one of last live shows that I’d see for a very long time. I had been up in north Wales talking to libraries about the potential for them to increase community use by staging performances through The Night Out scheme. It’s a simple idea – the scheme takes away the financial risk for community groups so they can put on music, theatre and live performances in local community spaces. In the 2019-20 financial year, there were over 530 shows organised by 300 plus community groups through the scheme.
As I travelled to various meetings in north Wales, we had nervous conversations about what this virus might mean but no one suggested anything closely related to the lockdown and the social distancing measures that were introduced a couple of weeks later.
It’s now 15 months later and I’m at a live performance at Rudry Community Hall near Caerphilly. As lockdown has eased, Welsh Government have said that live performances can start again. There is of course a responsibility on the organiser to make sure it is safe. Audiences are socially distanced, people wear masks when moving around and there’s no queuing at the bar. Social distancing means numbers are severely limited, a hall that used to hold over a hundred can now only accommodate 30. Tables are set out cabaret style; as we arrive, we are shown to our pre-allocated table.
First on tonight is a local boy from Bedwas, Rob Lear and band, followed by Mishra, a Sheffield based twosome playing global folk music. It was lovely to attend a live music event again. Rob Lear has a lovely voice and writes some good tunes. Mishra were a lovely mix of banjo, haunting flute and tabla drums – Americana meets India meets Folk.
Both artists were loving playing live again, and I must confess to wiping a tear or two from my eyes as they spoke about the joy of being able to connect with a live audience and do what they do once more. The audience were very appreciative, stayed socially distanced and the whole evening was well organised by the ‘Off The Beaten Track’ volunteers, and it felt safe.
You may ask “why bother” when only 30 people can attend, but it’s a step back on a journey to allow communities to meet together and musicians to once more earn a living, everyone connecting through the shared experience.
The next night I watched the European football, tens of thousands of fans packed together, celebrating, commiserating, hugging. It’s hard to argue with the view that artists have been quietly ignored.
