Lincoln Drill Hall suspends programme

The decision was made by senior members of the team following guidance from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and health officials delivered this week, which strongly advised against members of the public visiting theatres, pubs and restaurants and to ‘avoid all unnecessary social contact’ with others in an effort to delay the spread of coronavirus in the UK.

With no timescale known, Lincoln Drill Hall is putting the safety of the public, its team members and performers first and is following the advice provided, effective immediately until Sunday June 7.

This includes all shows, participation, workshops and meetings and may extend beyond the 12-week period, given the complex and fast-moving situation.

All events from Monday June 8 onwards will remain on sale until further notice and the team will keep everyone informed if the situation changes.

Efforts are being made to rebook a number of events for later in the year.

Any developments will be communicated to customers and the team will be in touch with its customers in the coming days to discuss the options available to those who have pre-booked tickets and to thank them for their continued support.

Chris Kirkwood, CEO at Lincoln Drill Hall, said: “This is an unprecedented situation and it’s imperative that we act in a responsible and sensible manner as the whole country comes to terms with the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Like most organisations in our sector, we felt that our only course of action is to suspend public programming, in our case for a period of twelve weeks. This will inevitably place an additional financial burden on our operations so we ask that people bear with us whilst we work through this process in the coming days.

“We are contacting customers as quickly as possible, but this will take time so we’re asking for patience from those who have pre booked tickets.

“Our team and trustees are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that we remain resilient in this time of crisis and uncertainty.

“The response already shown from our audiences is overwhelming and I’d like to thank everyone for their support.”

In recognition of the role Lincoln Drill Hall plays as a safe community space for many, including vulnerable people, the café bar will remain open during normal daytime hours in the short term.

As a charitable organisation, the arts venue relies on donations and the generosity of the community to survive.

To donate to Lincoln Drill Hall during an unprecedented and uncertain time for arts and theatre spaces across the country, visit lincolndrillhall.com for more details.