Everyone’s looking for ways to allow gathering in large groups to watch performances, safely, without fear of infection, during the Corona Virus shut down.
An idea that keeps coming up is to re-establish the “drive-in” where by audiences sit in their cars to watch, usually, a film screening.
This idea was very popular in 1950s when a car provided one of the few places that young couples could be alone and a drive-in movie was the perfect excuse to be parked up in the darkness for a couple of hours for a kiss and a cuddle.
The idea has resurfaced recently as a car might provide the perfect bubble to protect you and your family group from the infectious coughs and sneezes of others.
It’s been announced that a drive-in cinema will open in Enfield, “screening films, recorded theatre shows and more”.
We’re told “tickets for the first film screenings are on sale now, including showings of LA LA LAND, BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, DIRTY DANCING, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT and THE TERMINATOR. Further titles, including theatre productions, are to be announced”.
But will it be safe? We’re reassured “cars will be spaced two metres apart, with all tickets scanned through closed car windows. Food and drink will be ordered from audience mobile phones and delivered to their vehicle, while toilets will be on-site and cleaned between uses. The price is £35 per car”.
Producer Laura Elmes said: "I am delighted to be launching The Drive In at Troubadour Meridian Water in Enfield. After the events of the last few months the appetite to experience live entertainment but in a safe and socially distant way is growing. The safety and enjoyment of our customers will be our first priority, so I can think of no better way to start to enjoy cinema and live entertainment than by doing it in a completely contact free way. At ‘The Drive In' audiences will stay in their cars whilst still enjoying the incredible experience of cinema, pre-recorded theatre and live events. We hope audiences cannot wait to be entertained again."
I suppose that all makes sense but I fear watching a distant screen whilst shut in a car will prove a very poor substitute for sharing a live event with fellow audience members.
For that you need to be able to hear your neighbour’s laughter, share in their sense of focus as the performance grips, feed off each other’s enthusiasm and applause… I doubt we’ll feel that kind of group connection whilst encased in metal and glass, 2ft away from anyone else who’s confined in the same way.
FYI. The Meridian Water site is operated by Troubadour Theatres, who own the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. There will also be ten free car tickets per showing to NHS and care workers.
The screenings begin in July.
Right, who do I know in London that can afford a car?
Performance venues across the nation have been shut since mid-March and we’ve no idea when the situation will change.