August has been an uplifting month for Talent Artistic Group [TAG]. Having been buoyed by news in mid-August that indoor theatres, music and performance venues will be able to resume with socially distanced audiences, the company has been handed the further boost of supporting one of its large tourism clients, Haven, as it relaunched its live indoor entertainment offering.
TAG, an award-winning theatrical show producer and live entertainment booking agency, had not seen any of its acts perform since March 19, so the return of Haven’s live indoor entertainment schedule on August 17 will have come as a huge relief.
From mid-August to the end of the month, 345 acts have been performing on Haven parks, and the operator has extended its 2020 season to include November.
Jamie Hughes, the chief of TAG’s agency team, was thrilled with the restart of indoor performances allowing booking slots to finally be offered out to acts once again.
Hughes said: “This pandemic has been truly tough for anyone involved in the entertainment industry. It is absolutely amazing for me and everyone at TAG to have the opportunity to help acts and agents start to get back to some sort of normality!”
Trade body UKHospitality also welcomed August’s news that indoor theatres, music and performance venues will be allowed to return, along with the reopening of indoor soft play areas, bowling alleys, skating rinks, spas and casinos.
However, it has raised some concern over the ongoing closure of nightclubs and the apparent lack of planning for their eventual return.
UKHospitality chief executive, Kate Nicholls, said: “This is another welcome step to returning to some sort of normality. Lots of businesses like soft play and bowling alleys were feeling overlooked during this crisis. It’s great to see they can now begin to get up and running. It will help keep more businesses alive and valuable jobs open.
“Opening up indoor performances is great news for theatres and music venues and the same goes for wedding receptions. Even in reduced numbers, permitting couples to push ahead with weddings that will have taken no small amount of planning is very positive news.
“We are still concerned that there appears to be no plan for the reopening of nightclubs, though. Clubs all around the country are now at a very real risk of going out of business. We need a plan for their reopening immediately.”
Photo by James Barr on Unsplash
