Neptune Theatre cancels Dickens’ A Christmas Carol fundraiser
Posted Nov 25, 2020 11:54:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Live performance will have to wait a little longer before returning to Neptune Theatre.
On Tuesday the theatre announced it would be cancelling the run of Dickens' A Christmas Carol because of the spike in COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia's Central Zone.
The holiday classic was going to be the first live theatre at Neptune since March 13, when it shut down operations because of the pandemic.
Jeremy Webb is the company's artistic director, and says all performances were going to strictly follow guidelines from provincial health authorities, but it wasn't worth the risk.
“We were doing everything right, but with the cases on the rise in this area of the province… we didn't think it was the right time to be encouraging people to gather at the theatre for a show,” he says.
The province announced additional restrictions for central and western HRM following Neptune's decision, that call for all arts and cultural activities to be paused.
Webb says the idea of the theatre reopening offered a glimmer of hope.
“We are very sad that we can't entertain all the families and people that were planning on coming to see this,” he says. “This will be the first year it won't appear live on stage in 17 years.”
He says a filmed version of the show will be added to its online platform 'Neptune at Home.'
“We have actually filmed the show in its entirety and turned it into a movie that we are putting on our digital platform,” he says. “We are hoping people will go there to get a taste of it now that they can't go to the theatre in person.”
Neptune is asking ticket holders to consider donating their tickets for a charitable receipt, or asking for a gift card instead of money back.
