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Cancelled! Cancelled! Cancelled! Stars on the shows that couldn't go on

‘I want to introduce the new Love Islanders more than anything’

Iain Stirling, voice of Love Island, standup comedian

I remember everything in terms of football. It was the day Liverpool played Atlético de Madrid and, as I watched, I felt a bit fluey, meaning I had the symptoms of coronavirus. I had a gig in London the next day and with about five hours to go we cancelled, along with the shows in Brighton and Cardiff. At that point, I thought: “Hopefully I’ll feel better and then we can carry on.” But then Boris Johnson announced lockdown, and I had to postpone the entire spring leg of my tour, plus the recording of my Amazon Prime special.

‘A blow’ … Iain Stirling and Laura Whitmore.
‘A blow’ … Iain Stirling and Laura Whitmore. Photograph: David M Benett/Getty Images for Hard Rock Hotel London

Luckily, because most of my material isn’t topical, I haven’t had to rip it all up. I tried a few coronavirus jokes back in February, but as soon as I mentioned it the audience went a bit weird. It’s difficult to joke about something when you’re all in the same room, breathing the same air. I don’t know whether people will want to laugh about coronavirus when this is over, or pretend it never happened.

Not doing Love Island this year is a blow. You think because it’s such a big show, they’ll find a way to make it happen. But postponing it is the right thing to do. I’ve spent so many summers in Spain now that it’s going to be weird not to be out there. For the first few weeks of lockdown, my partner Laura [Whitmore, who presents] said she felt like she was in the audience of a gig every time we had dinner. I had to do something with that energy – it was either that or run down the street screaming at couples – so I’ve started doing live streams on Twitch.

I can’t wait to get back on Love Island. Watching all the contestants being introduced is my favourite bit. Do they have funny surnames? Is there a turn of phrase or mannerism I can pick up on? I want to meet the new islanders more than anything. I need more islanders in my life.

‘Will there still be theatre audiences after coronavirus?’

Laura Wade, dramatist

We were just gearing up for the debut of The Watsons in London’s West End when everything shut down. All the cast had been engaged, and we were about to choose understudies. Knowing that these 17 people were expecting to be in work this summer and now aren’t has been the hardest bit. You feel a responsibility.

‘We won’t give up’ … Laura Wade.
‘We won’t give up’ … Laura Wade. Photograph: Dan Wooller/Rex/Shutterstock

The Watsons, my adaptation of the unfinished novel by Jane Austen, had such a long gestation. I can’t quite believe it’s gone. Maybe I’m in denial, but I do believe it will come back. I’m not sure where or how though. Too much is in the air. I know the show’s producers will do everything they can to get it back up and running.

The best thing about being a playwright is having a play on. We write to communicate, to share our stories. Getting into rehearsals, getting a play on stage, that’s what I live for. So it feels extremely sad right now. But everyone in the industry is in the same boat. It’s not like only my show got cancelled because, say, the finance fell through. You have to be humble about your own disappointment, and see the bigger picture.

I wonder what theatre will be like after coronavirus. Will there still be audiences? What will they want to see? What will be able to afford to give them? I know we are an industry of resourceful and imaginative people. We won’t give up without a big fight. The aliveness of theatre is such a special, specific thing. I can’t see it going away.

‘I was involved in 80 shows around the world. All were cancelled’

Wayne McGregor, choreographer

I’ve never had anything cancelled before in my career. Now, thanks to coronavirus, around 80 shows I was involved in around the world have been cancelled.  I’d been working on The Dante Project, a three-part epic that was due to premiere at the Royal Opera House in London this month. It took three years to bring together. The score was done, the designs were finished, and we were just about to go into rehearsals with the Royal Ballet when everything shut down.

The actual cancellation was quite quick and brutal. I found out in March just after my 50th birthday. The Royal Ballet had planned a celebration for me, to go alongside the Dante premiere, which would have been lovely. I’m generally an optimist, though. I’m pretty good at dealing with what life throws at me. The most difficult thing for me has been my company. I have a company of 50 people and they’re my biggest concern. Trying to work out how it can have a life in the future has taken a huge amount of energy.

The creative arts will always be vibrant, but this is a key moment for the government to realise their crucial value to everyday life, and support the industry. The experience of watching a play, a ballet, a live performance, when you’re all in the same space, breathing the same air together – that’s such a special thing.

‘I flew to London and there were six people on the plane’

Catherine Cohen, comedian and actor

In early March, I did this fun show in Washington DC with a bunch of female comedians. After the show, I asked them: “I’m meant to go to London in two days. Do you think that’s a bad idea?” And they were like: “No, it will be fine. You should go!”

So I flew to London and there were six people on my flight. There was this weird energy in the air, but my show was sold out and went amazingly. Afterwards, I was hugging a bunch of people and having drinks at the bar. I got back to my hotel room at 3am and finally had a chance to check my phone. There was a message from my mum saying: “You need to come home right now!” I cancelled the rest of my London shows and flew back.

I’m dying to get back to performing. I host a weekly show at Club Cumming in New York’s East Village and I miss it so much. I’ve started hosting it every Wednesday on my Instagram Live, which is useful, because having a show to prepare for helps me remember what day of the week it is. But it’s no replacement for the energy of performing in front of a live crowd.

My mood changes on the hour. Some days I wake up with a knot in my stomach, feeling hopeless, thinking that everything I’ve ever worked for in my career has disappeared. And then other days I think: “What a wonderful opportunity to pause, reflect – and reinvent my artistic process!”

‘This is the longest I’ve gone without playing the drums since I was 14’ … Jack Bevan, on right, with Foals.
‘This is the longest I’ve gone without playing the drums since I was 14’ … Jack Bevan, on right, with Foals. Photograph: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

‘They were doing temperature checks at Manila airport’

Jack Bevan, drummer, Foals

We were at Heathrow airport, on our way to tour Asia, just as everything started to shut down. When we arrived at Manila, in the Philippines, everyone at the airport was having their temperature checked. Then our Manila gig got cancelled the day before we were meant to play. We flew back to the UK and were in lockdown about a week later.

I feel sorry for emerging bands who would have been promoting debut records this summer. They’ll be hit the hardest. If coronavirus had happened to us the year our first album came out, or even our second, it would have crippled us. We might have been dropped by our label. But because we’re more established, we’ve been able to take a year off touring.

If this had happened the year our first album came out, it would have crippled us

Still, it hurts. Festivals account for approximately 80% of our income. The impact on artists is huge, but it’s also devastating for people who aren’t talked about so much – the road crew and the venue staff, who may not fall into the furloughing scheme. We’ve been selling fans Foals T-shirts to support the crew. We’ve actually sold 3,000, which helped tide them over for a few months.

We haven’t been able to get in a room to play because of the lockdown rules – and I’m itching to do it. This is the longest I’ve gone without playing the drums since I was 14. Our initial plan was to spend 2020 touring, then and go back into the studio next year. But I think we’ll probably start writing later this year instead, and get back to touring next year — if we’re allowed.

‘My crew and I almost didn’t make it back home’

Chelsea Wolfe, singer-songwriter

It was wild watching everything happen. I went from being on a tour bus on my way to Berlin to buying flights, driving straight to the airport, and getting on a chaotic plane home to the US. My crew and I almost didn’t make it back. After Trump announced a ban on all arrivals from Europe, the airlines started price-gouging. Flights were jumping from a few hundred dollars to thousands right in front of our eyes.

There was definitely a period of mourning when I got home. I poured so much into Birth of Violence, my last album, and I was so looking forward to getting it out to people on tour. I thought I might still be able to do my later tour dates, but then the entire European leg was cancelled, followed by Australia and New Zealand.

I live in northern California, near the mountains. Now I wake up in the morning, do a Zoom yoga class, and start making music in my home studio. Once I got over the shock of being at home, it was nice to be creative again. I work on songs with my bandmates, going back and forth via email.

The financial stuff is scary. Cancelling the tour was huge. I’d already invested so much money into booking the tour bus, renting the gear, paying for my crew, the flights, a week of their time for rehearsals, the stage dressings. None of that stuff is refundable. I’ve been able to sell some tour merch, which helps. It’s been cool to see fans wanting to support artists. Lots have left comments online saying: “I was meant to see you play live, but I bought a T-shirt instead.”