Why a culture and entertainment revolution is closer than you think

This week, something extraordinary landed in my inbox. It was an invitation to a film screening. Not a Vimeo link or a Zoom invite. An actual screening. In an actual cinema. It was the first of its kind that I’ve received since February, which by my estimation was 73 years ago.

As a devilishly catchy viral video puts it, the pandemic isn’t over just because we’re over it. But it has been heartening over the past few weeks to see cultural events slowly but surely popping back up again. If done safely, they can be wonderful. Folk outfit Fisherman’s Friends performed on a Cornish cliff top.

The Donmar Warehouse put on a play – well, a socially distanced sound installation – called Blindness. Alexandra Palace is putting on a drive-in event to showcase a new version of Puccini’s La bohème­. London’s first dedicated public art walk has been created. Soon, an immersive outdoor performance called C-O-N-T-A-C-T will begin its run.

It’s been a strange time to be a culture journalist (and a human, of course). As the pandemic has escalated in a way that none of us popping the champagne at new year could have possibly imagined, gigs, festivals, film releases and TV productions have all ground to a halt. But the innovative art that has been created during lockdown has been genuinely thrilling to witness and cover. And it seems, as we tentatively re-emerge into something resembling normality, that this innovation isn’t slowing down. Forced to think outside the box, to figure out a way of presenting their work to an audience without endangering their health, artists are doing what they do best: using their imagination.

In the coming months, dare I say years, we will see plays, shows and music performances that would never have otherwise existed, delivered in ways we’ve never experienced before. As silver linings go, this one isn’t bad.

Yours,

Alexandra Pollard

Deputy culture editor