Trinity’s Samuel Beckett Theatre will be open to the public during the Dublin Theatre Festival, the School of Creative Arts has said.
The school’s coronavirus safety plans, published yesterday, reveal that “members of the public will be invited to attend performances in the Samuel Beckett Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival”.
The annual festival, which also made use of Trinity’s Samuel Beckett Theatre last year, will be taking place between September 24th and October 11th.
The safety plans released by the School of Creative Arts yesterday say that tickets for the performances “will be sold directly through the Dublin Theatre Festival, and it is anticipated that all tickets will therefore be purchased online in advance of the performance”.
During the festival, Trinity will introduce an outdoor queuing system for performances and will have markings on the ground to facilitate social distancing.
Staff working at the box office will be required to “take appropriate precautions (wear masks/maintain hygiene standards/ensure appropriate distance) when answering queries and checking tickets in advance of the house opening”, according to the plan.
The school has not decided whether or not attendees will be escorted from Front Gate to the theatre as will be the case for Book of Kells visitors, but says that it “will take guidance” on the matter.
Trinity is undergoing a phased reopening after closing campus in March due to the national lockdown. Campus will reopen to the general public on September 28th.
The Book of Kells reopened last week. Visitors to the exhibition will be required to wear a face mask and will be refused entry if they do not comply.
In an email statement to The University Times, Thomas Deane, a Trinity media relations officer, said that the exhibition will be open “in a strictly controlled manner that abides by all prevailing COVID-19-related safety guidelines”.
“Visitors will enter through the Nassau St entrance, follow a one-way system around Fellows Square, and then exit through Nassau St, with campus security monitoring the system to ensure visitors do not access other areas of campus”, he added.
