'What can't be changed, and is always the case, is the incredible emotional toll that it takes on an entire cast and crew.”

Tauranga Musical Theatre president Jeremy Sparrow is talking about the cancellation of their season of ‘Les Misérables'.

Just days away from putting on the production, set to open February 4, the country went to the red setting forcing the theatre company to cancel their long-awaited show.

The set was in and the cast and crew of 130 people was rehearsing at Baycourt Community and Art Centre.

The theatre holds 580 patrons and with gatherings restricted to 100 people maximum, it is no longer financially viable for the season to run, says Jeremy.

This isn't the first time the thespians have been disappointed by Covid-19 alert levels, the production was postponed in 2020 and again in 2021.

'It's very emotional when you've got 130 people that are impacted by that,” says Jeremy.

'They've had 12 months of rehearsals for this now.”

In 1995 Tauranga Musical Theatre put on ‘Les Misérables'; the 2022 performances were going to be the musical's reimagining.

'We have members in TMT that have waited for 25 years to audition for this and for the show to come back around,” says the theatre's president.

'For some of the actors, they would say that this is their dream role, this is what they had been waiting for.

'So for them it's a lifelong goal and for them to miss out on that is incredibly disappointing.”

The Tauranga Musical Theatre is a not-for-profit organisation and thousands of volunteer hours have gone into ‘Les Misérables'.

Jeremy says they had phenomenal support from the community 'and ticket sales were tracking ahead of their biggest ever show at Baycourt”.

Now the theatre is asking for those that had tickets and are able to, to donate the cost, or a portion of their ticket cost to the theatre to help recuperate some of the expenses incurred. To do so, visit: www.taurangamusicaltheatre.co.nz

Funding support

The theatre may also be eligible for support through the Government's latest Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund for any unrecoverable costs.

Jeremy says the theatre is now in the process of working through what their unrecoverable costs are in order to apply.

'What can't be calculated financially is the incredible toll it takes on a lot of people,” he reiterates.

Creative Bay of Plenty funding and projects advisor Annie Hill says it was great news to hear the announcement of the Government's Omicron relief fund for those working in the arts and culture sector.

'People and organisations working in events are into their third year of disruption, experiencing much heartache from planning events and then having to postpone or cancel.

'It is particularly heartening to see the emergency relief for those that need critical financial support.

'We would be keen to see this fund extended if the disruption lasts for more than a couple of months to ensure the sustainability of those negatively impacted by the restrictions.”

For more information on the Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund, visit: www.mch.govt.nz