The BBC have announced the Culture in Quarantine festival, covering dance, theatre, and classical music among other events during the current coronavirus pandemic.
Jonty Claypole, the director of Arts at the BBC has said the service will provide guides for exhibitions which have shut down due to the outbreak, in addition to recordings of plays and pieces from the establishment’s archive.
Albion, directed by Mike Bartlett, and Wise Children, by Emma Rice are among plays viewers can expect to see.
In a statement, the BBC said the Culture in Quarantine festival will act as “a virtual festival of the arts...rooted in the experience of both voluntary and involuntary isolation. All this will be done hand-in-hand with the wider arts and cultural sector through coverage and collaboration."
Claypole said that “at a time when many freelance musicians face uncertainty, BBC Radio 3 is looking to set up a series of special chamber studio recordings”. He promised that the station would continue to broadcast classical music during this time.
He added that “For a sector that thrives on bringing people together to share live and shared experiences, and that brings benefits for us all, it raises the urgent question: what is culture in a state of quarantine?”
“For me, a precious ray of sunshine has emerged in the clear determination of artists, performers, curators and producers to keep creating and connecting with audiences whatever the circumstances.
“Historically, artists thrive on periods of isolation and it seems certain that the current period will result in new plays, poems, books, films, paintings, sculptures and all other forms of art that might not otherwise occur.”
