The Byre theatre welcomes back audiences – but live performances are still off

Alongside theatres across the country, the Byre Theatre temporarily shut its doors to the public in March 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Six months later, the St Andrews theatre is welcoming audiences back, but with new safety procedures to protect audiences and staff. Live performances are not allowed yet, but there is a wealth of culture on film and movies from the archives for people to enjoy.

Kally Lloyd-Jones and Jessica Richards, joint-directors of The Byre Theatre, said: “The cultural sector continues to struggle in these difficult times, and in many ways, the Byre is no different to our friends, colleagues and collaborators in theatre across Scotland. However, we are fortunate to be part of the University of St Andrews which means that we are able to make use of our theatre as a place for teaching and as a place where people can come together to connect with arts and culture on screen.

“Safety is our highest priority and the whole team have been working tirelessly to create a safe but welcoming environment for audiences. We wanted to share what it will be like for people when they come to the Byre, so we’ve made a short film which will let you see the changes we’ve made, available at byretheatre.com.

“While we aren’t, yet, able to have performers on our stage, we are selecting a range of screen-based offerings so that there is something for everyone. We are also aware that not everyone is ready or able to come back to the theatre, so we are continuing to curate online viewing for Byre@Home on our website and are about to launch an online project which encourages people to be creative as they walk along our beautiful north east Fife coastline. In whatever way people are able to connect with us – we’re really looking forward to welcoming audiences back into the Byre.”

Physical distancing has dramatically reduced the number of audience members who can access the Byre’s spaces. Pre-lockdown, the AB Paterson Auditorium could seat up to 216 people, there was capacity for up to 80 in the studio and up to 26 in the conference room. For the moment, when, audiences are able to be in the building, those figures are restricted to 25, 12 and three respectively.