That followed a similar announcement last week by Wexford Festival Opera, and two weeks before that from Dublin Fringe. In all cases, there’s a commitment to holding events of some sort, whether online or in locations where social distancing is possible. We look forward to the work they’ll be presenting, but it doesn’t get away from the brutal reality facing arts events and artists in Ireland. “Socially distanced performance at 10-15 per cent of normal capacity is unsustainable.”These are scorched-earth numbers which would do irretrievable damage. And EY states that the recovery of the sector may take until 2025 “if nothing is done to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19”.

Source: The Irish Times June 20, 2020 04:00 UTC