Grand intermission: London's Grand Theatre postpones season until 2021

The Grand Theatre's 2020-2021 season, which was set to kick off in October, has been postponed until the fall of 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"The timeline for a safe return to live performance events in the wake of the COVID-19 continues to be pushed ahead," saidArtistic Director Dennis Garnhum, adding that the health of their staff, artists, patrons and volunteers continues to be theirtop priority.

"Planning large productions such as ours against unknown timing is very difficult and financially too risky. Forall of thesereasons, we would rather be safe than sorry."

Back in March, the theatre was forced to cancelthe remainder of the 2019-2020 season in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. A few weeks later, the theatreannounced it would be cancelling the High School Project's production of Barnum, a musical that was set to be performed off-site in a tent at the Western Fair in September.

The postponement of the season not only includes shows scheduled to take place in the theatre's two main stages, but also the Jeans n' Classics concert series and the cross-Canada tour of Cabaret.

"It is heartbreaking to make the calls to the artists and designers that were contracted for the coming season and just difficult to tell our staff who are passionate about their work at the Grand," Garnhum said.

People who had already purchased subscriptions for the upcoming season have been asked to consider donatingthe value of their tickets to the theatre. They will also have the option of getting a credit or a full refund.

At some point during the pause of shows,the theatre will pick up its $8-million dollar renovation that was postponed from this spring. Officials saidthere is a specific set of funds that can only be used for that purpose, so they are using this time off the stage to do the renovation.

'Intermission' seen as a chance to correct systemic racism in Canadiantheatre

The season's postponement, which the theatre has dubbed as a 'Grand intermission,' is being used by leadership teams to learn and take action againstsystemic racism in the theatre industry.

"Hearing the voices and consulting with theBIPOCcommunities both within and outside of the arts and culture construct, we will be examining the theatre through a different lens and making changes to all aspects of what we do at the Grand," Garnhum said, adding that everything from programming to who they hire will be reviewed.

In addition, a working group has been created to develop a plan to keep Londoners engaged through this period.

"I'm not going to give anything away at this point, but I can tell you that whatever we do will be innovative, inclusive, thought-provoking, and joyful," Garnhum said.

Despite the financial hit from the postponement, Garnhum said he's hopeful that live theatre will be able to survive the pandemic.

"No matter how delightful and powerful bingeing and streaming shows can be, it will never replace live theatre."