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*Some information mentioned in this article may be out of date due to the progress of the current situation.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*
Alex Louize Bird is currently a swing in the London production of Matilda. Her other credits include Ensemble & cover children in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (UK tour); Swing & Cover Children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane); Ensemble in Wicked (Apollo Victoria); Dance Captain & Ensemble in Tommy (Blackpool); Ensemble in High School Musical 2 (UK tour); Jemima in Cats (Larnaca, Cyprus); Ensemble/Cover Eponine in Les Misérables In Concert (Jersey/Guernsey); Princess Jasmine in Aladdin (Peterborough); Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden (Aldwych); Brat in Whistle Down the Wind (Aldwych); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (The London Palladium); Young Cosette in Les Misérables (Palace Theatre) and Young Tommy in Tommy (Shaftesbury 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?
Monday’s are our day off at Matilda so we actually saw on social media what was going on before we officially heard anything. I had just had a weeks holiday so I was already missing work. My initial reaction was that we knew this was coming, but thought it would be maybe a couple of weeks if that. I knew I was going to feel anxious about not knowing when we were going to get back to work but I tried to think about the fact that this was what was going to help people stay healthy. I tried to get a routine going as soon as possible at home so it didn’t feel like so much of a change. But I knew how much I was going to miss being at work.
Can you tell us anything productive you’ve been doing?
I’ve been trying to stay productive by following lots of online workouts and classes. The industry has been amazing at coming together and putting themselves out there to help others. Having a little one it’s hard to fit in as much as I would like but it’s motivating just seeing it being put out there. And I love seeing all my talented friends be so amazing!
