The London stage has been under the cosh for the last five years.
Prior to the arrival of a global pandemic that devastated every sector including our own, those running theatres were already struggling due to financial constraints imposed by an unsympathetic government appointing a long chain of Culture Ministers, none of whom had any interest in culture.
The advent of coronavirus then closed theatres. Worse, in the longer term, it then altered the mindsets of many theatregoers who have never returned. As we were recently reminded by the closures at Macbeth, it also led to recurring rounds of infection, with the side effects of long COVID.
Throw in a cost-of-living crisis, and you have to be proud of those in the theatre community who have somehow managed to survive, let alone thrive. Indeed, one of the biggest changes that the London theatre scene will see over the coming years is the departure of the English National Opera, dismissed from the capital by the peccadilloes of Nadine Dorries during her brief tenure as Minister for the Arts.
The arrival of a new government may offer hope for the future, although they are keeping any desire to support theatres very quiet so far.
In this climate, theatres and theatregoers need a boost, and that might come over the next few years with one of the periods of flux, as most of the main London theatres have just welcomed or will soon welcome new artistic directors.
The most eagerly awaited arrival will be that of Indhu Rubasingham, who takes over from Rufus Norris at the National Theatre in spring 2025, both because she is a generational talent and it is the biggest player of all, with three stages to fill.
The RSC is not London-based but does produce a quantity of significant work in the capital every year and the duo of Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans have only recently started up there, so we are yet to fully understand the direction in which they will take the theatre.
Maintaining the Shakespearean theme, two of the relatively few theatres that have continuity are Shakespeare’s Globe and the Bridge, respectively run by Michelle Terry and Sir Nicholas Hytner.
The biggest news of the winter must be the appointment of Rupert Goold at the Old Vic. At first sight, the programming might be predictable, given that he is bringing Rebecca Frecknall along to join the party. However, what we have learned in his tenure of over a decade at the Almeida, not to mention earlier days, is that Goold always loves to surprise and delight. His departure means that the top job at the Almeida is currently open, and whoever takes over will inevitably bring us a fresh approach.
Change is also in the offing at the Young Vic, where the only artistic director of a major theatre company with an Afro-Caribbean heritage, Kwame Kwei-Armah, is to be replaced at the start of next year by Nadia Fall.
By these standards, Tim Sheader and David Byrne are old hands at the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court, even though they only took over the reins from Vicky Featherstone and Michael Longhurst respectively earlier this year.
Despite considerable pressure to widen the net and offer great opportunities to women and those from ethnic minorities, it is worth observing that the majority of those mentioned in this article, which covers most of the major London theatres that have their own directors, are white, male and relatively close to middle age.
Additionally, two of the other major players on the London theatre scene, with their own companies but no fixed houses, are Michael Grandage and Jamie Lloyd, each of whom is heavily influential and white, male and relatively close to middle age.
The situation could be eased with the Almeida appointment, and one has to hope that the arrivals of Indhu Rubasingham and Nadia Fall will prove to be an inspiration to aspiring directors from outside the usual stomping grounds, as greater equality and diversity must surely be a necessary development if theatre is to rebuild and strive to get back to past glories.