Coronavirus update: theatres closed and events cancelled in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill

Theatres and arts venues in Hastings and Bexhill have felt the impact of the coronavirus crisis after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech on Monday night (March 16).
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Coronavirus

The White Rock Theatre in Hastings has suspended all events and shows for the time being.

The popular venue had planned to go ahead with performances following the government’s previous advice.

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But that approach changed after the Prime Minister’s Monday night statement, in which he urged people to avoid gatherings and crowded places, like pubs, clubs and theatres.

A message on the venue’s website reads: “In response to the Prime Minister’s statement advising that people should avoid non-essential contact with others; all events and shows from Tuesday, March 17, in our venue are suspended.

“We appreciate this will be disappointing news, but hope customers will understand the unprecedented nature of the current circumstances. Ultimately the health and wellbeing of all is the most important consideration at this time.

“We will be posting further statements over the coming days about the status of forthcoming shows. Where performances do not proceed we will make contact with customers at the appropriate time to advise on the next steps.

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“We would ask all customers to refrain from contacting the Box Office unless absolutely necessary to do so.”

An updated list of all the rescheduled events can be found here.

The Hastings Beatles Day 2020, which was set to take place on April 5, with a promotion concert at The Albion on March 22, will no longer go ahead either. People can read the full statement at hastingsbeatlesday.com.

The Opus Theatre in Hastings has made a similar announcement, which reads: “Due to the Covid-90 pandemic, the Opus Theatre will be temporary closed. Thank you for your understanding.”

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St Mary in the Castle has also announced that all events, classes and concerts are suspended until April 22 with further cancellations expected. Where events have been cancelled completely, the venue aims to update ticket holders as soon as possible with information about refunds. They have asked that people avoid calling the phone line unless it’s absolutely necessary and will try to respond to emails within 14 working days.

A spokesperson said: “Please be assured that we will put all the latest updates regarding events on our website and social media pages.”

Visit stmaryinthecastle.co.uk to read more.

The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill has announced that it is currently trying to reschedule all of this week’s shows for later dates.

A statement on www.dlwp.com explains: “These will be announced one by one as they come through. We will be contacting you directly if you have bought tickets for a rescheduled event, and we would appreciate your help by avoiding contacting us so we can get through this as quickly as possible. We are working with our partners to confirm new dates.

“The Pavilion remains open to the public, 10am-5pm.

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“We would like to reassure you that we are doing our very best to protect our visitors and staff during the coronavirus situation. We continue to closely monitor and follow government advice and are talking regularly to East Sussex Public Health and Rother District Council. We have increased the frequency with which we deep-clean door handles, lift buttons, light switches, hand rails and other touch points. We have instructed our staff to wash their hands frequently, use sanitisers where available and follow NHS guidelines, and we would ask our visitors to do the same.

“Please follow current NHS advice. Please help us try to keep everyone safe.”

Bexhill Museum plans to close to the general public on Thursday, March 19, but aims to reopen on Friday, May 1, unless advised otherwise. Membership subscriptions will be automatically extended to cover the period that the Museum is closed.

The Rye Jazz & Blues Festival May concerts have also been cancelled.

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Festival director Ian Bowden said: “We have made the hard but necessary decision to postpone our May concert presentations at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, and St Mary’s Church, Rye. We are working with the venues, artists and their management teams to reschedule these events. We are aiming to reschedule for Autumn/Winter 2020. If the rescheduled dates are no longer suitable for our customers then we will of course refund or transfer tickets to future events.

“Our August festival planning continues and we have further exciting announcements on the horizon.

“If you have tickets for our May concerts we will contact you with more detail about the rescheduling in the near future. In the meantime, we wish all of our customers the very best at this uncertain time; when we are having to avoid the gatherings that bring us together and that create so much joy for us all.”

Stables Theatre in Hastings has closed for 48 hours while it reviews the situation. Find out more at stablestheatre.co.uk.