Sarah Berger is an Actress / Director /Producer who runs The So & So Arts Club in west London. She has created The Capsule Theatre Festival, a response to the pandemic, to encourage new work to be made now, socially distanced. 

I am sure I am not alone in having found the impact of Covid 19 both traumatic and interesting.

I run www.thesoandsoartsclub.com and in this its 8th year I was just about to launch a brand new venue with its own cafe, rehearsal space and fully equipped 70 seat black box theatre. The transformation of an old fabric shop into a funky bohemian arts hub was a true labour of love and the fact that we had to close it pretty much the week we were properly opening was a huge blow.

But with any disaster also comes opportunity. I personally think the theatre was already in terrible trouble, freelancers are the lifeblood of it and they have to survive as part of the gig economy and the virus has exposed just how untenable that is.

We will all have to think of new ways of producing and making theatre. There is without doubt going to be much heartache and loss, theatres will close and people will have to leave the profession but I also hope this will prove to be a time where people rally together to find a more equitable way forward.

The Capsule Theatre and Film Festival goes live on 3rd June 2020. It is looking for new Plays that can be rehearsed and performed in a socially distant way. The Play should be no longer than 60 minutes, with a maximum cast of 4. Find out more: capsulefestival.com

Twitter: @SarahJaneBerger