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If you can cast your memory as far back as late November, you might remember that a number of London theatres – including the Old Vic, the National Theatre and the Royal Opera House – instigated mask mandates before the government switched to its Plan B. Some, like Soho Theatre or individual West End shows like ‘Moulin Rouge!’, also required Covid passes.
So what’s happening with them now? Given that they brought these measures in prior to mask-wearing being made compulsory via the government’s now-expired Plan B, we decided to find out what the deal is now.
In short, theatres are, by-and-large, moderating their policies, while firmly asking that audiences wear masks. Soho Theatre, which had one of the strictest policies, is now asking people to wear masks rather than demanding it, while proof of vaccination status will be determined by spot checks rather than asking everyone.
From next week the National Theatre will be switching to ‘strongly encouraging’ the wearing of masks, something the Old Vic has already moved to. The Royal Opera House PR directed me to its updated online guidance which says ‘please wear a mask’, a softening of its previous hardcore rule, where admission would not be granted unless you were wearing a mask.
However, ‘Moulin Rouge!’ – which was noted for mandating masks long before the rise of Omicron – has confirmed it will still be requiring mask and proof of vaccination status, and the same goes for most West End shows (which, to be fair, mostly required proof of status already, though actual enforcement was patchy). SOLT – aka the Society of London Theatre – asks 'theatregoers to wear face coverings throughout our buildings unless exempt, to protect our hardworking staff, performers and fellow audience members.'
In conclusion then, the lifting of Plan B has effectively ended the late November/early December mask mandates in London. However, all theatres still really strongly *urge* you to wear masks, and most West End theatres require proof of vaccination status, with those that had a mask mandate in place pre-Omicron still having it in place now. Basically: you should still probably wear a mask, yeah?