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*Some information mentioned in this article may be out of date due to the progress of the current situation.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*
Livvy Evans is currently in the London production of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theatre. Her other credits include Swing/cover Tina/Michelle in Sister Act (UK and Ireland tour), Swing/cover Sisters in Ghost The Musical(UK tour), Swing/cover sisters in Ghost The Musical (Asian Tour), Crystal Gordon in Bad Girls (Union Theatre), Swing/Assistant Dance Captain in Motown The Musical (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Velcro in Soho Cinders (Charing Cross Theatre).
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 in tech for Tina! We were just about to do our first dress/tech ready to open the next day. I was actually in a wig cap about to go and get my wig on for the first time when we were called for a meeting. We had started to hear about all the other theatres closing throughout the evening, so although I felt it was coming, it was still a bit surreal. There was a lot of confusion and speculation because we weren’t due to have an audience that night, so we weren’t sure about was going to happen, however, it was decided that going home was the safest option.
Can you tell us anything productive you’ve been doing?
I haven’t actually learnt anything specific during the lockdown, I had a go at baking (like the whole of the UK did) but I discovered that I don’t find it particularly enjoyable, so that lasted about two days. I’m a real workaholic though and It’s very rare for me to have proper time off. So I guess you could say that I’ve learnt the skill of actually relaxing and taking some real downtime. I’ve been keeping on top of my fitness by doing circuits in the garden, walking/running and being outside as much as possible. I haven’t really done many online classes, mainly because I find it a bit claustrophobic doing them in my living room.
