hello - we're open
NEWS – 7 Sep 2021
Aberdeen Performing Arts say hello as venues re-open to the public
News – 7 Sep 2021
Aberdeen Performing Arts will open its venues to the public on Tuesday September 7, 18 months after closing the doors at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His Majesty’s Theatre, the Music Hall and the Lemon Tree closed on 17 March 2020 as the pandemic took hold, and the country prepared to go into lockdown. Since then the arts charity has rescheduled or cancelled over 700 performances while 270 staff were furloughed.
Chief Executive Jane Spiers said:
“We are so pleased, relieved and grateful to be opening our doors again after such a difficult 18 months. Nearly 90% of our turnover is earned income and that was wiped out overnight when we closed in March 2020. I can’t thank our loyal team enough, our furloughed team who stayed with us in spirit and the handful of retained team who ripped up their job descriptions and did whatever it took to keep us afloat. It’s a milestone moment for all of us and we can’t wait for curtain up. As we start to see people coming back to work it’s hard not to feel emotional. It’s much more than a turn of the key to get our three venues open again after so long and everyone is working so hard to get us there.”
“We are phasing back gradually planning to be fully programmed again by November. Our immediate priority is to bring our beautiful buildings back to life and put measures in place to make sure that our customers and audiences feel safe and comfortable going forwards.
We’ve just put the finishing touches to a terrific Autumn/Winter season brochure. We’re so grateful to our audiences who donated so generously during the pandemic to help keep us going. There would be no show without you. Enjoy!”
Box offices at His Majesty’s Theatre and the Music Hall will open on Tuesday, September 7 and will be open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am – 6pm. Coda Café in the Music Hall will be open from Tuesday, September 14 with opening hours of Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am – 5pm. HMT 1906 café and restaurant will remain closed until the end of November to increase circulation space in His Majesty’s Theatre foyer/box office as part of COVID safety measures.
The first performance at the Music Hall will be Nick Cave and Warren Ellis on Sunday, September 19, with the first event, the National Whisky Festival, taking place on Saturday, September 18. The first show at His Majesty’s Theatre wil be the 100th Aberdeen Student Show, Freezin’ which runs at the theatre from Tuesday, September 14 to Saturday September 18, while at the Lemon Tree the first show will be The Wandering Hearts on Wednesday, September 8.
