Nuffield Theatres have gone into administration due to coronavirus

Nuffield Southampton Theatres have gone into administration as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The theatres have been facing financial trouble, The Daily Echo reports.  To comply with social distancing measures, the theatres, located in the city centre and at the heart of Highfield campus, shut their doors and cancelled all future events.

Since then they have been processing refunds for cancelled events and have not received much in the way of advanced bookings, as is to be expected in the current climate.

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The administrators are hoping to sell the business and keep NST as a key cultural point for the city. One of the administrators, Greg Palfrey told the BBC they understand these are “testing commercial conditions” and a sale might not come around too quickly.

It has also been made clear that it is only the business up for sale with both the City Council and the University of Southampton confirming that the buildings are not up for sale themselves.

Many people have taken to social media to express their sadness and concern over the recent news, calling it “devastating” and “a huge blow”.

DEVASTATING!!!

An entire region (and our nation) loses a powerhouse theatre company. This will not be an anomoly if our Government doesn't provide support for our sector which does FAR MORE than just put on plays!

My heart is with all at Nuffield @MrSamHodges https://t.co/hrrvgxUH10

— Roy Alexander Weise (@RAWeiseArtist) May 6, 2020

Nuffield Theatres began in 1964 when the University of Southampton in conjunction with the Nuffield Foundation, built a theatre venue on it’s campus. The city venue then opened in 2018. In this time, the theatres have encouraged people to come and watch plays but also to get involved in making and directing them too.

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Southampton is also due to bid for the City of Culture 2025 and whilst this news comes as a blow to the city, many still remain positive to win the bid. Councillor Satvir Kaur for the Shirley ward tweeted: “We’ll continue to work with the cultural sector, ACE and local communities to ensure we have a strong cultural offer”.

Sad news for @NSTheatres and Southampton today. Thinking of all staff and volunteers – thank you for sharing Southampton stories and bringing communities together. We’ll continue to work with the cultural sector, ACE and local communities to ensure we have a strong cultural offer

— Satvir Kaur (@LabourSatvir) May 6, 2020

It has also been met with people encouraging their friends and followers to donate to local charities so that they can “stop what happened to The Nuffield happening to your city”

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