THE curfew imposed by the authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19 is having a debilitating impact on yet another segment of the entertainment sector.

The local theatre scene has come to a screeching halt since March of this year when the pandemic was announced. However, in August producers Jambiz International took the initiative to take their production — The Windscream Posse — back to the stage, given the relaxation of some of the measures to counter the spread of the virus.

The comedy, which stars Jambiz staples including Glen “Titus” Campbell, Sakina Deer, and Courtney Wilson, ran for a number of weeks at the Little Theatre in St Andrew, a larger venue than their home at Centrestage Theatre in New Kingston and, as a result, was able to observe a COVID-19 protocols, particularly social distancing, as only a percentage of the seating capacity was being utilised.

However, the production’s run at the Little Theatre was cut short as a result of the tightening of the measures.

According to Jambiz principal, Lenford Salmon, the early curfew times made it impossible to continue.

“The curfew times were first at 7:00 pm then moved to 8:00 and then 9:00. This does not allow us to stage the production and get our patrons out of the theatre and home before the start of the curfew, especially on a weekday. Technically, we could mount the production on a weekend [Saturday and Sunday] as we could do early shows and end at a reasonable hour, but with the recent spike… the number of infections of between 200 and 300 per day, and deaths as a result of the virus reported at eight, nine, and 10 per day, we know people are going to be a little shy about going into an enclosed space,” Salmon told the Jamaica Observer‘s Splash.

Currently, the curfew runs from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am and is slated to remain in place until 5:00 am on October 7, 2020. As of yesterday morning, close to 6,500 people tested positive for the virus, while reported deaths stood at 107.

Salmon noted that during the run at the Little Theatre, the production was able to break even, which is something the company knew before commencing the run.

“We did not make any money, but we also did not lose anything either. The truth is part of the reason we pushed for that run was really to keep local theatre in the eyes of Jamaicans. We wanted to show that even during this pandemic, the local theatre scene is still alive and kicking. However, until the rate of infection reduces significantly I don’t see productions returning to the local stage,” Salmon concluded.

Several events, including carnival road march slated for this month, have been shelved due to fears associated with COVID-19.