These recent times have been some of the hardest challenges we've faced and as a community, it hit us pretty hard. However during these difficult times, here at Pocket Size Theatre, we wanted to spread a little positivity and share some peoples experiences because we are all in this together. Each day we'll be speaking to our friends in the industry to share their experiences with you all so take a read and see how people are getting through these hard times.
Let's stick together, share the love and get through this as a community!
*Some information mentioned in this article may be out of date due to the progress of the current situation. Please keep that in mind when reading*
Bradley Judge was most recently seen on the UK tour of Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, playing Dan and covering the Pharaoh. His other credits include Woof in Hair (UK and German Tour); Salad Days (UK Tour); Lewis in Pippin (Southwark Playhouse & Hope Mill Theatre); Rotelli in YANK! (Charing Cross Theatre) and Sonny in Grease (RCCL).
On Monday 16th March 2020, The Society of London Theatre announced the closure of all Theatres in London. This followed suit with regional venues. Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction?
I was sat with my boyfriend, Harry, in the bar at the Southwark Playhouse ready to watch The Last 5 Years. We’d just heard the news via Twitter and I had lots of people messaging me asking if I’d seen. It was such a surreal moment, I hadn’t realised how serious the Coronavirus was in the UK and as soon as this happened I was in utter shock. We were in limbo at the theatre because we didn’t know if the show was going to go ahead. Fortunately it did and we were able to see what was the unofficial last performance of L5Y. It was a terrific, moving production with a wonderful cast, beautiful direction, amazing musical talents from not just the excellent band but also from the two performers. It was beautifully enhanced with spectacular lighting, set and costume. It was a strange atmosphere at the theatre that night because we were realising that it was probably the last time we were going to watch live theatre for a long time. At this point we didn’t know what was going to happen and how long the theatres would be closed for, we still don’t, but we have hope. It was an extremely emotional show but I was also heartbroken thinking about how wonderful our industry is and the future of it was so unknown. The next day we saw that the production had closed and what really struck a chord was that most likely a lot of the bigger West End shows will survive, but these gems of shows at the smaller theatres may not have the funds to keep going. I’m so passionate about smaller Off-West End shows because its some of the best theatre I’ve seen, indeed possibly my favourite job I ever did was Pippin at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester which later transferred to the Southwark Playhouse. There’s something about intimate venues like these that breathe magic into productions and they hold the most special place in my heart. With this being said, I have hope that productions like The Last Five Years will return. Katy Lipson is such a hard-working producer and I’m sure she will do everything to make sure this show is seen by a wider audience, as it should be.
