Theatres await further relaxing of rules to lock in return date

Some of Melbourne's best-known theatres will remain closed for at least another four months, with one operator saying "profit would be impossible" until the Victorian government further relaxes bans on large gatherings.

Premier Daniel Andrews said over the weekend that up to 50 people would be allowed in theatres from Monday, June 22. The date marks the first time theatres will be permitted to re-open since nationwide COVID-19 shutdowns began in March.

When Victorian theatres do re-open, patrons who aren't from the same household will be asked to sit 1.5 metres away from each other. An audience of 50 isn't guaranteed, either: theatres must not house more than one person for every four square metres of space.

Theatre operators say they are waiting for the rules to be relaxed further before re-opening. Matthew Lutton, the artistic director of the Malthouse Theatre, said his main venue has capacity for around 500 people.

"Operating at 10 per cent capacity isn't an option for us," Mr Lutton said. "If we had shows that could be reactivated, the ticket price would be enormous just to cover the costs. Profit would be impossible."

Mr Lutton said the theatre was planning to re-open in November to give people time to trust being out in public again.

"Just because we're opening venues doesn't mean there will be an immediate flood of audiences," he said. "We're looking at being creative and fundraising to get an outdoor stage and performing outdoors hopefully in November, all the way through to march next year.

"We just need to make some adjustments. Taking down contact details [for tracing] won't be a problem. What we need to look at is what the cleaning and daily health procedures are at a venue. Of course there's discussions of how to detect audience members that might have a cold or just be having a temperature. We don't have the answers yet."

Melbourne Theatre Company co-chief executive Virginia Lovett is also looking to re-open towards the end of the year despite the new rules.

"We can be closed down overnight but we cannot return overnight," Ms Lovett said. "We are looking at a September, October return but we need to know the restrictions will be lifted so we can begin planning with absolute confidence from rehearsals to opening night."

Even smaller venues are taking a slow-and-steady approach to offset a potentially sluggish box office and the possibility of a surge in new coronavirus cases between now and the end of the year.

Red Stitch Theatre's artistic director, Ella Caldwell, said she won't re-open on June 22. In fact, she hasn't ruled out the prospect of not opening this year at all.

"We're constantly updating our projections," Ms Caldwell said. "The limited nature of our venue limits our capacity significantly. We are continuing creative work, including script development with current restrictions."

Liz Jones, the artistic director of La Mama Theatre, said she hoped restrictions would continue to ease so she could seat around 30 people when the theatre plans to re-open in September.

La Mama's courthouse venue has capacity for 50 to 70 patrons depending on the seating arrangement. However, the entire theatre is just 99 square metres according to floor plans.

"Our artists have been used to working to an audience of 30," Ms Jones said. "Obviously we would need to have hand wash and face marks and various other things I assume. I think it's very unlikely that, initially, people are going to feel comfortable coming to sit in a darkened space with ... other people they don't know.

"But we're optimists. We've got our beautiful community supporting us."