Prague’s National Theatre (ND) has reportedly lost CZK 121.3m (£4.2m/$5.5m/€4.6m) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with CZK 51m returned to fans via ticket refunds from about 400 cancelled shows.
ND director Jan Burian added that by the end of the year the loss is estimated to be more than CZK 250m, Expats.cz reports. However, this could be reduced to CZK 180m due to savings, Burian states.
The 986-capacity venue plans to return money to those who bought tickets for all cancelled performances, with approximately 73,630 already refunded out of the 80,910 tickets sold.
The theatre has retained CZK 2.3m in ticket revenues from cancelled shows between March and June.
The theatre was able to pay its staff thanks to a subsidy of CZK117.6m from the Culture Ministry in July.
Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, said: “This is a struggle for theatre… It is about how much love there is for theatre and how many spectators cannot get along without theatre in the country.”
The ND did not reopen for the public when performances for up to 500 people were allowed again, as it stated the move would be loss-making. It will use its full capacity beginning next season.
Zoom
Zoom has integrated ticketing platform Tixoom to allow event creators using the platform to collect payment or donations.
Event holders can set their own ticket prices in a number of currencies, and participants can pay securely with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and all major credit and debit cards with Tixoom a Verified Stripe Partner.
With many events moving online during the Covid-19 pandemic, Tixoom has launched with the aim of simplifying the transaction process. The ticketing feature is accessed through Zoom and works with its free accounts.
Event holders can choose whether to sell fixed price tickets or accept donations with all payments processed via Stripe, and Tixoom provides a customisable event page to share.
While there is no subscription or ongoing contract fees, there is a three-per-cent fee for each ticket sold through the platform as well as the payment processing fee.
Tixoom founder and chief executive Adam Stamper, said: “It feels like the whole world has moved their education and entertainment onto Zoom but there was no easy replacement for collecting small amounts of cash from participants.
“We’re thrilled that Stripe have endorsed our goal of helping creators and teachers continue to get paid after switching their events online.”
West End
A new outdoor venue in London’s city centre will host a series of free concerts performed by West End stars from Thursday.
The new performance space, The Garden at Centre Point, which is close to Tottenham Court Road, will put on shows by Duality Music every week from Thursday to Sunday from 2pm to 7pm.
The free to attend events will be supported by Almacanta Investments and all musicians and vocalists performing in the concert will be paid.
Wicked The Musical is the biggest show being represented at the newly announced concert series.
Image: CAPTAIN RAJU / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Edited for size
Share this