Last year Lighthouse spent almost £20,000 front and back of house to make the building COVID-secure by installing protective screens, signage for the public and staff and hand sanitising points. The mobile temperature readers complete these COVID-security works and will in part replace the hand-held temperature readers currently in use. 

“Lighthouse is enormously grateful to the Theatres Trust for their continued support of our efforts to make the building safer and even more accessible to as many users as possible,” says Lighthouse Fundraising Manager Tom Shallaker. 

“These terminals make a huge difference to how audiences, artists and staff move through the building. For instance, everyone arriving at stage door has had to have their temperature checked by a member of staff using a manual reader in close proximity to the individual. These units reduce the likelihood of transmission by increasing social distancing and contact during this process. 

“These terminals also provide greater risk mitigation for the public and allow us to provide added confidence for our customers as they enter performance spaces, for artists using space to perform or develop work, and for other users such as delegates to conference and exhibitions. This area of the business has been hit particularly hard and it is important for us to rebuild this income stream to help support our creative learning and participation programme.” 

Each year Lighthouse welcomes more than 200,000 people to ticketed shows in its venues. It also receives at least a further 100,000 people who use the building for a wide variety of events including conferences, exhibitions and training as well as tea dances, workshops, educational classes and community group meetings. 

“For many of the people who attend our shows and events, Lighthouse is an important cultural lifeline, giving them an opportunity to experience the highest quality live entertainments and improving their quality of life through providing opportunities to socialise, develop skills and experiment with new hobbies. 

“Thanks to the support of the Theatres Trust we are now able to further reduce the risk of our customers and patrons coming into contact with somebody who is affected by coronavirus,” adds Tom.