More arts venues suspend performances in Eastbourne: coronavirus update

Eastbourne Theatres have stated that they would cancel all performances up until April 19.

Earlier in the week it was announced that shows at the Congress Theatre and Devonshire Park Theatre would be going ahead as planned. But after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech on Monday night (March 16), in which he urged people to avoid gatherings and crowded places, like pubs, clubs and theatres, Eastbourne Theatres has made the following statement: “Following government advice and alongside other UK theatres, we are cancelling all performances at Eastbourne Theatres up to and including Sunday, April 19. This includes the Joe Brown Concert and this week’s production of The Habit of Art, neither of which will go ahead.

“Customers who have tickets for performances up until April 19 will receive a letter or email, offering them a refund, credit voucher or exchange. We are currently trying to re-schedule several shows that fall in this period for later in the year so there may be a short delay before you hear from us.

“If you have booked for a show after April 19, these tickets remain on sale and we will let you know in plenty of time if anything changes.

“If you have tickets booked for a show between now and Sunday, April 19, we ask that you do not contact our Box Office team or email us. We will be in touch with you. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.”

Find out more at www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk.

The Royal Hippodrome Theatre has announced that it is closed too.

A statement on their website reads: “In response to the advice given by the Prime Minister and UK Government surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic we are closed until further notice. All ticket holders will be contacted in due course with information regarding the upcoming shows, alternative dates an refund options.”

Find out more at royalhippodrome.com.

Towner Eastbourne closed to the public on Thursday and the exhibitions, cinema and events programme has been suspended.

A spokesperson said: “If you have booked tickets for an exhibition, film or event we will be in touch in due course with details of refund options. While our building is closed, we remain committed to our role as a valuable community resource and we will explore ways to connect with and inspire everyone digitally. We encourage you to keep visiting our website and following our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels where we will provide updates and make digital content available.”

Find out more at www.townereastbourne.org.uk.

The Printers Playhouse is closing its doors as well.

The venue has put out the following statement: “On Monday the government advised the public to avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other social venues and, of course, our precious Independent Community Arts Hub falls into these categories. We want all of our PPH family to remain as safe and well as possible, so we will be closed for the time being – but please be reassured that we have every intention of weathering this storm. The coming months are going to be very difficult for small businesses like ours but we have always been overwhelmed by the kindness and support of our friends, artists, colleagues and customers and we know that those who can, will want to continue supporting us through the coming months. Ideally, we would have liked to set up a virtual PPH bar…but unfortunately virtual beer isn’t as delicious as ours, so instead we are asking you to please make a small donation to PPH, perhaps for the amount of a beer or two, and for every £2 donated we will enter you into a prize draw for a number of wonderful artistic gifts! Names will be drawn at random at the end of April. Prizes include original artwork from fantastic local and international artists Michaele Wynn-Jones, Mark Curryer, Graham Dean and more; a course of five 30-minute piano lessons, one-to-one singing lesson, one-to-one acting lesson, a PPH voucher towards any of our courses or groups and a massive booze bucket full of your favourite beers wines and spirits. So please do donate if you can. Please BACS your payment to: Buzz Productions, 30-99-04, 01144510, with your name as the reference. In spite of everything, the PPH team is continuing to press on with plans for our future workshops, productions and events – so any help you can give us right now will be so very gratefully received.”

Visit printersplayhouse.co.uk.

Coronavirus update: theatres closed and events cancelled in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill. Click here to read more.