SALTBURN Community Theatre was placed in darkness as lockdown began. However, since December 3, it has been filled with light every evening.

The illumination was the idea of Mo Coade, a trustee of Saltburn Community and Arts Association. Learning of the Great Doorstep Switch On, where Redcar and Cleveland Council encouraged a collective show of light by Christmas lights being switched on simultaneously on December 3, she considered the possibility of devising a nightly illumination for the theatre. With invaluable encouragement and help from other trustees, an internal timing and lighting system was introduced, and a team of trustees and staff committed to manning it every evening. The theatre and hall entrance are filled with light every evening, returning to shadows a few hours later.

Backstage, the trustees, staff, and theatre community have been industrious, preparing to reopen in safer times. Initiatives include grant applications, building maintenance, refining safety measures, and working with organisational and digital consultants to realise the full potential of the theatre and community hall.

For many, long term theatre closures are unprecedented, but they have happened before.

Theatres in Elizabethan and Jacobean times were frequently closed due to health scares and civil unrest. There were major outbreaks of the plague between 1563 and 1665 resulting in theatre closures. Academics have argued that Shakespeare’s life (1564 – 1616) and works were shaped by his experience of the plague.

Another major closure in the 17th Century was for a different reason. In 1642 the Puritan-led government ordered the indefinite closure of all London theatres, citing “stage plays as representative of lascivious mirth and levity”. This coincided with the beginning of the Civil War.

In 1660, the monarchy was restored, and Charles II ordered parliament to lift the ban on theatres. Under his reign, new playwriting was cultivated, and women were encouraged to take the stage. The Puritans had demolished the Globe theatre in 1664, but the king established two new London theatres, Drury Lane and Covent Garden.

In the First World War, despite dangers such as air raids and the possibility of attack, there was no government mandate for theatre closures. Local authorities introduced restrictions as they saw fit. As a result, many theatres stayed open and became busier than ever, with both performers and audiences displaying a proud patriotic resilience. As the Second World War began in 1939, many jobs were lost overnight as the theatres closed to protect the public, however the closure order was lifted a few weeks later. But the Blitz in 1940 resulted in a second wave of theatre closures. Some theatres, both in and out of London, carried on regardless.

This determination was echoed by Ms Coade, who said: “It’s been wonderful to see the newly revealed west gable window really be a part of lighting up Saltburn. Staff, trustees, members, and volunteers are working together and keeping people’s hope alive that we will be open again soon.”