I’m at the theatre tonight. I’m seeing the press night of A Christmas Carol. (Break a leg, friends). I’m going to talk about my #CovidSafeTheatre experience.

I booked online, and rather than collecting my ticket at the box office, they handily emailed me an e-ticket. This means there’s no unnecessary contact when I arrive at the theatre.

My ticket has a staggered arrival time on it. When I arrived, I was directed straight to the dress circle door. It’s roped off so I don’t pass anyone heading elsewhere. This is what the foyer looked like. Again, this is press night.

After a temperature check and a bag check, I headed up to the dress circle. I turned around to snap this photo as I walked to the dress circle door. There were two hand sanitiser stations on the way, and absolutely everyone is wearing masks.

This was my journey to my seat. #CovidSafeTheatres

My threads got split up, so I’m adding my other tweets to this thread so it’s all together. Bear with me.

My ticket was scanned directly from my phone, so again, no unnecessary contact. I headed to my seat and here I am, very happily waiting for the show to start. There’s no one sitting 1 metre away from me in any direction. Again, everyone is wearing masks.

Added bonus: sightlines are amazing because there’s no danger of someone sitting in front of me! #CovidSafeTheatre

If I want a drink before the show starts, I can order on my phone or wave at a member of FOH who will take an order via card and deliver directly to my seat. They’re all wearing masks and gloves. We’ve also been reminded to keep masks on unless we’re eating or drinking.

Interval! By the way, the show is absolutely brilliant. Before it started, there was an announcement welcoming us back to the theatre (to massive applause) and some notes about the actors on stage and what to expect.

The announcement said everyone on stage would be socially distanced, but if we saw anyone come into close contact, it’s been approved by the Performing Arts Guidelines. We were told to keep our face coverings on and sanitise at regular intervals.

We were also given expectations for what to do at the end of the show. We were asked to stay in our seats and wait for the ushers to direct us out row by row. This means we will have a socially distanced exit as well as entrance.

This was my journey out of the theatre.

Home! I walked back and my fingers were too cold to type. But there’s so much more to say about the evening. First of all, what a show. One of the most beautiful and moving nights at the theatre I’ve ever had.

There’s a bit more to say about the safety precautions I observed tonight. The orchestra has been configured cleverly. Each player in the woodwind and brass sections is divided by screens, so they’re each in their own individual cubicle. Strings and percussion wear masks.

The cast, crew and orchestra are being tested every few days; more often if required. They have a Covid Safety Officer on the team. Every single person - back and front of house - is enforcing exemplary safety measures. And yet they close tomorrow.

. @RealBrianConley delivered a very moving speech at the end of the night about the show being such a bright light in a very dark year. He said how strange it is to open tonight and close tomorrow. How hard they’ve all worked. How lucky they feel that it happened at all.

Ultimately, I’m going to say the same thing as everyone else. I felt safer inside the Dominion theatre than on Oxford Street tonight by a mile. #CovidSafeTheatre