Matt Smith and Claire Foy to star in socially-distanced play to save Old Vic

Matt Smith and Claire Foy are set to perform in a socially-distanced play on stage, withut an audience, in London’s Old Vic theatre. 

Claire and Matt, who star in The Crown, will reprise their roles in the play Lungs by Duncan MacMillan, in a bid to raise money to help save the Old Vic.

The pair had performed the play to sell-out crowds last year, but the upcoming production will look a little different due to social distancing measures. 

Claire and Matt will have to remain at least two metres apart from each other, and the play will be live-streamed to the audience rather than having people in the auditorium.

The performances will take place in June as part of the Old Vic: In Camera series, which also features rehearsed play-readings streamed live from the stage. 

Each show will be available for the usual audience of 1000 people, and in an attempt to replicate the experience of the theatre, tickets will also be priced from £10 to £65 as they are in the real Old Vic, though all viewers watching from home will have the same view. 

The upcoming run of shows is to raise money to keep the Old Vic running, after box office revenue dried up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Old Vic is a registered charity and does not receive regular money from the government, leaving it in a vulnerable position as a result of the pandemic.

It is one of London’s oldest theatres at 202 years old, and their financial position was ‘seriously perilous’ in April, according to artistic director Matthew Warchus. 

While it has some reserve funds, it is a ‘small number of months’ before they run out without any money coming in from ticket sales and donations.

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