How Old Diorama Spent 2020
So a typical morning at Old Diorama Arts Centre goes something like this -
One member of staff comes in, sets out the outdoor tables, turns on the lights, checks the rooms, and starts up the computers. Within 15 minutes, coffee will be on, and whatever is blasting through said staff members headphones will soon be pouring out of the speakers on Reception, and filling the bright Foyer Gallery with music and singing (sometimes off-key, sometimes professional standard - we have all sorts on our team here). The first client through the door is greeted with a rousing “GOOD MORNING!” reminiscent of the character ‘Target Lady’ on Saturday Night Live, who cannot WAIT to start her shift. That’s us. We love being at Old Diorama, and we are SO happy to see you. Legit.
Then came March 2020. Business started to trickle away as shows were postponed or cancelled. Our standard greetings became “You’re here!” or “How is everything going…?” and “Goodbye” was replaced with the Covid staple: “Stay safe.” We locked up the centre on March 18th, not knowing when we’d be back.
There followed 6 months of silence. Silence from musicians; silence from production companies; silence in the West End and Broadway theatre; silence as the world waited with bated breath for some good news - any news - that might represent a glimmer of hope; something to illuminate a city lit only by ghostlights.
The ever-changing government guidelines kept the Diorama team on a hair-trigger, waiting to be called back into work. We stayed in touch via Zoom calls, and WhatsApp, but it was easy to see the ways in which lockdown was taking its toll on us all. Hair grew longer, significantly shorter, or - for the particularly disillusioned among us - pink or turquoise. We talked and text; we had video drinks; we talked; we walked; we text. We felt guilty about the way we were using our days. For every day spent learning a new skill on YouTube - piano, sign language, advanced yoga - there was a reflected and contrasting day that saw us fighting to block out the world. We slept, a lot. We ran, outside, for an hour. We stayed indoors. We waited.
We got Covid-19. Not all of us, but some. So when our throats and chests stopped hurting, we talked about that. We talked about fatigue and fever, and headaches and how it felt to have your lungs screaming to get out of your rib cage every time your throat tickled. We isolated, and worried about our families. We tried to keep each other sane. We checked the updates, daily, until it became too much. We kept talking because we didn’t want to forget about life before.
We went online. Diorama, I mean, and as much as a centre housing rehearsal studio feasibly COULD go online. We reached out to our regular clients, and asked them to tag us - #DioHub - into any of their activities that had gone digital, in order to retain our sense of community and to help spread the word among like-minded people whenever there were opportunities for casting workshops, online massage courses, theatre classes, etc. Our gorgeous community didn’t disappoint, giving generously across all platforms - recording inspiring reports and images of what they were up to, resharing the work of other clients, and also keeping in touch with us via email to let us know what they were up to, in order to keep the dialogue open, and as a reminder that our world would one day be back to normal, as we knew it.
Then came September; and with it, a light.
Lifeafterhummus Community Benefit Society was founded in 2016, providing free or low-cost classes and activities on vegan cooking and nutrition. When Covid reared its ugly head, founder Farah Rainfly saw a change in the needs of the community; they adapted by launching a health and safety conscious Covid-19 Emergency Community Response, which led to the society providing food, supplies, and everyday household items to local residents who were facing increased financial hardship as a result of the pandemic.
We thought they were great. So they moved into our Foyer.
And just like that, Old Diorama came back to life.
Lifeafterhummus moved into the Foyer, with storage on the ground floor, allowing beneficiaries and volunteers to come in to shop or drop donations. The team ran a tight ship in terms of Covid compliance, giving us the confidence that we could potentially accommodate some other groups too…
Our neighbours Camden People’s Theatre were renovating, and therefore needed space to store the myriad accoutrements that comprise a working theatre. They therefore nested briefly in the Green Room, operating the Performance Studio as a rehearsal space for their various projects. It was glorious to see and hear small groups rehearsing in the space again, and really did feel so close to real life.
Our relationship with our “landlord” British Land was tested and proved to be invaluable at this time, with the wonderful Regent’s Place Community Manager, Rose Alexander, helping to steer worthwhile organisations who needed help in our direction. Far from being hands-off on this, Rose flung herself with her usual verve into supporting the groups using Diorama from the ground up, offering help and advice every step of the way.
In came Sankofa Storytelling Arts, led by the brilliant Vanessa Browne, providing courses in expressive arts and wellness drama for children and families, online or in small closely-managed groups. Vanessa’s bright beautiful eyes, peering over her mask, danced as once again she was able to coordinate groups of young people, encouraging them to move and interact safely, and it is said that her online and ‘rule of 6’ sessions have been a lifeline for many Camden families, giving them a much-needed break from what has been an incredibly challenging year. It was certainly easy to see from the glowing smiles on the children’s faces how much good the organisation was doing, in spite of health restrictions, and limited time and resources. Sankofa - which loosely translates as ‘to go back in the past, learn and retrieve knowledge in order to guide the future’ - were residents of Old Diorama Project Office when Vanessa was appointed one of the 12 Heroes of Camden, as determined by Camden Giving, and honoured with an art project at the top of King’s Boulevard.
Meanwhile, our Mezzanine Studio played host to Black Man Time, led by fantastic artist and community organiser Alain ‘Fusion’ Clapham. BMT celebrates the ‘awesome everyday stories of black men and women’ through carefully curated live experiences in theatres, cinemas, museums, and interactive spaces. Past events have explored themes such as mental health, masculinity, and sexual identity through film, spoken word, music, and discussion. During the pandemic, Fusion used social media and online platforms to circulate work with his collaborators, including a weekly live show: ‘Black Love Stories’ (BLS). Originally conceived as a live show celebrating love in the black community, the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic gave cause to reimagine BLS as an online experience to uplift, entertain, and establish a sense of connection in uncertain times.
It was very easy to see why communities follow individuals like Fusion and Vanessa - their passion and magnetism is unsurpassable, and we feel so proud and privileged to have been able to facilitate their brilliant work, if only for a short time.
Action Youth Boxing Intervention - a fantastic group developed to prevent young and vulnerable people from entering a cycle of criminality, or (if it has already developed) to break that cycle - moved into our Taiko Studio. The highly-successful “Real-Talk” programme has been completed by over 500 students, and combines non-contact boxing training with group ‘circle-time’ discussions; and one-to-one work using a range of techniques including behavioural therapy, social life skills training, motivational teamwork skills activities and goal setting.
AYBI were relentless in their ability to create, laugh, and enjoy their time working together, and the attendees seemed to love every minute. The film they produced, as well as the broad grins across the (masked!) faces of the young people on their program made them a real joy to have around.
Lionbeat took up residence in the Regents room, developing new approaches to online and public space for bass and sound system culture; leading radical dialogue to improve the provision of support to black communities, particularly black creatives. Lionbeat focus on bringing collected works from creatives to carefully identified audience segments, outdoors and online. A priority is to increase joy for creators and audiences; working with the belief that creativity, inclusivity and kindness are key to all worthwhile pursuits.
The Academy studio meanwhile became home to the incredibly valuable services of Mosaic Trust, a longtime client and associate of Old Diorama, whose mission is to support, educate and inspire young LGBT+ persons and those around them. They aim to do this by providing accessible activities, programmes and services that aim to empower community members; provide essential resources; advocate for young LGBT+ rights; and embrace, promote and endorse the diversity of young persons; to create a strong and cohesive LGBT+ community that is safe, free from prejudice, and thriving. A community in which every LGBT+ young person feels empowered, inspired and proud of who they are.
Real Life Events - founded to facilitate relationships between businesses, education, and community groups, as well as delivering industry experiences and career insight for young people, aged 11-21 - dropped in, bringing their focus on strengthening useful skills, such as collaboration, teamwork and creative activities to empower the next generation in a businesses capacity. Working with businesses from all industries, RLE coordinate, supervise, and evaluate structured activities; providing opportunities to explore career options that may otherwise be inaccessible. We also welcomed Brandon Centre: originally called the London Youth Advisory Centre, providing Mental and Sexual Health Services for under 25-year-olds. The centre supports over 6,000 young people every year to lead happier, healthier lives, and their pioneering interventions include suicide prevention, and a mental health approach to obesity prevention. Today, the Centre also offers an intervention for families of young people in serious trouble with the law and for parents struggling to bring up teenagers, as well as individual therapeutic help for young people.
Needless to say, we were inviting in some very kind, brave, and lovely people. The centre throbbed with activity once more, albeit in a significantly more muted and - most importantly - socially distanced way. There were no loiterers in the corridors or on benches; no gossiping around the water coolers; no water coolers at all, in fact, as we couldn’t see a way to make them Covid safe. Each occupied space hummed with its own independent activity, creating - across Diorama as a whole - a kind of creative hive, which rumbled with promise and kept our hopes up that our industry could indeed survive.
It was definitely weird, adjusting to the way the centre had to run in the Covid times. For example, the temptation to whip off ones mask to deliver a bold grin was difficult to suppress on occasion, to say nothing of the desire to share coffees or bags of crisps, or any other of the mad germ-spreading nonsense we all used to get up to. Hardest of all was fighting the temptation to hug people, once we got to know them well. It was annoying every time a reporter asked Professor Chris Whitty on the daily health updates when people could expect to be allowed to “hug their grannies” but it is a real thing, especially in theatre. We can be an overbearing, excessively-physically, breathy and space-invading bunch, and it was hard on the heart to work alongside such lovely people everyday for months, and not be able to get them in a proper cuddle!
Suffice it to say that, in a very challenging year, the theatre/media/LGBTQ+/music/art/charity community has once proven to be an unstoppable force, provided we all stand together, and lean in the right direction; even when “together” means by WhatsApp or video link, or even standing 2 metres apart wearing masks. So much has been lost over the last year and a bit, plenty of which can never be replaced or recovered, particularly when the losses have been people we loved.
What many people feel they have lost during the pandemic is TIME; that there were huge swathes of empty hours left unfilled during months in which our obligation was to try to survive, and to help other people whenever we could safely do so. Old Diorama rarely wastes time, and it has been such a source of pride and privilege to be able to accommodate these magnificent groups, sharing their skills, ideas, and aims to help communities in turmoil.
We’re now at the point where we are able to tentatively reopen to the public, cautious all the while about distancing, masks, sanitising, and capacity limitations, but my goodness it is wonderful to feel as though life may be on its way back. Every day we have thanked the wonderful NHS for their work in helping the country to keep moving, even when a return to normal felt impossible; and to all the wonderful directors, volunteers, and beneficiaries who have kept Old Diorama so full of life and worth during the pandemic. We are so looking forward to seeing you all again.
