Florence McCrae

Nicholas Hytner had never produced or directed television before lockdown. He confesses as much himself: “I’m the last person you’d come to in normal times to make seven hours of television.” Yet in the midst of a pandemic, the rules are bound to change ever so slightly.

Nick Flynn really ought to have tied his shoelaces. His visit to the Fitzwilliam museum would have been markedly different if he had, allowing him to leave with a few postcards instead of causing half a million pounds worth of damage. Then again, some of us learn lessons the hard way.

Following a review of the Labour party’s 2019 election defeat, it has been revealed that a new leader and the end of Brexit as a key election issue will not be enough for the party to win back power.

Dutch detectives believe they have “proof of life” of a Van Gogh painting stolen during lockdown.

Prior to lockdown the most complex element of a trip to Ikea was building the furniture at the other end. Now, with new social distancing measures in place, the reopening of 22 stores across England is more complex than building a Havsta ever was.

Far from being over dramatic, the future of theatres, according to Dominic Cavendish, is bleak. Indeed, in his piece for The Telegraph, Cavendish pulls no punches in his consideration of the situation: “here it is: the feared Doomsday scenario is starting to play out before our eyes.”

Following record amounts of borrowing in May, the UK’s debt is now larger than the economy.

Andy Hunter is the booksellers answer to Midas. Everything he touches turns to gold. At the beginning of the year, Hunter noticed untapped ground – there was no independent platform to retail books from. If one were to exist and could capture the minds and loosen the purse strings of even a handful of Amazon’s customer base, the profits would be considerable indeed.

Oriel College has voted in favour of removing the statue of Cecil Rhodes and will establish an independent inquiry to examine the key issues surrounding it, as a result of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign established four years ago.

The prime minister has announced a £1 billion fund for pupils in England who have missed out on school as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

In the first workshop for No Direction Home, Tom Parry told his cohort: “Don’t try to be funny. Try to be interesting”. In the past 18 months since the group’s foundation, this advice has proved fruitful, as the collective has gone on to grow and thrive.

Leaders in the creative industries have warned of a “cultural catastrophe” following Covid-19.

Nicola Sturgeon is to announce the latest relaxation in lockdown measures as Scotland moves to the second phase of lockdown later today.

Kwame Kwei-Armah remains positive in spite of the fact the Young Vic is expected to run out of money by the end of the year, if present circumstances are anything to go by. “I am a hard-wired optimist” he says – a quality more important now than ever as we enter the thirteenth week of lockdown.

For decades, psychologists have understood the power of art therapy. Research indicates it can alleviate pain and improve moods; however, few institutions have dedicated funding towards it. The global pandemic has dramatically changed the needs of the public, according to The New York Times: “compelling cultural institutions around the country to create trauma-aware initiatives that put their art collections and educators at the forefront of a mental health crisis”.