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#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

Bethany/Ruth

@honeycrisp.bsky.social

I'm a classically trained singer 17 months past the COVID infection that gave me Long COVID (& ME/CFS, & MCAS). After months of speech therapy to retrain my voice, I can sing 20 minutes or so at full volume before the pain/fatigue sets back in. #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts #MaskUp #SaltingTheVibes

The Canary @thecanaryuk.bsky.social · Dec 21

A ‘silent’ epidemic: has Covid-19 damaged the voices of artists like Macbeth's Rona Morison?

Last week’s incident with Lady Macduff raised a disturbing question: could the illness that swept through the cast in November still be exacting its toll weeks later?
www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...

A ‘silent’ epidemic: has Covid-19 damaged the voices of artists like Macbeth's Rona Morison?

Voice loss at David Tennant’s Macbeth and the vocal health crisis in the performing arts: is it actually linked to Covid-19?

www.thecanary.co

December 21, 2024 at 10:03 PM Everybody can reply

8 reposts 40 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

PRESS RELEASE 🚨
AFTER ILLNESSES AT DAVID TENNANT’S MACBETH, PERFORMERS’ GROUP TO HAND OUT MASKS + TESTS

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts calls for better COVID testing & safety at Harold Pinter Theatre TODAY, Dec 13, 5:30–7:30 PM.

Tag big accounts & news to spread the word!🌍📰

Press release features a white background with the Protect The Heart Of The Arts organization's double heart Long Covid Awareness ribbon in the upper lefthand corner.

Grey text reads as follows:
Protect the Heart of the Arts
protecttheheartofthearts@gmail.com
protecttheheartofthearts.org

Black text reads as follows:
PRESS RELEASE

After Illness Cancellations at David Tennant's Macbeth,
Performers' Advocacy Group Distributes Masks and Tests

Protect the Heart of the Arts
protecttheheartofthearts@gmail.com
protecttheheartofthearts.org

LONDON, DECEMBER 12, 2024 - Protect the Heart of the Arts, a grassroots advocacy group focused on COVID safety in the performing arts, will distribute FFP2 masks and COVID-19 tests outside London's Harold Pinter Theatre on December 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., as audiences gather for Macbeth, starring Cush Jumbo and David Tennant.

This initiative builds on the group's ongoing efforts to support the health of performers, crew, venue staff, and audiences. One year ago, when this production of Macbeth first ran at Donmar Warehouse, the group distributed masks and warned that the removal of COVID mitigations like
masks and testing in theatres posed significant risks to everyone involved. During the current run, the production faced four cancellations due to illness within the company and returned to the stage with six understudies stepping in to ensure the show could go on.

Theatre audiences, like many others, rely on lateral flow tests for COVID detection, but these tests have limitations in today's post-vaccine era. Research shows that prior immunity from vaccinations or previous infections can delay the detectability of the virus in antigen tests, which may not return a positive result until four days after symptoms begin. As a result, many people may unknowingly attend events believing they are COVID-free.

Protect the Heart of the Arts is encouraging theatres to embrace the future of COVID safety: on-
site molecular testing. Units li…

December 13, 2024 at 3:41 PM Everybody can reply

11 reposts 15 likes

Andrea Barrett

@andreabarrett.bsky.social

Thank you!!! 💕😷🎗 Merry Maskmas to you too. May we one day hear of a masked showing of Macbeth; a Maskbeth if you will (credit to @salwitcher.bsky.social for the pun). On way to London. Switching to more festive outfit once there. #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

Andrea on train in fitted basic white ffp2, black coat, her dark blonde hair visible, dark orangey red beanie hat and red tartan scarf.

December 13, 2024 at 2:18 PM Everybody can reply

4 reposts 17 likes

Murr

@neoodist.bsky.social

To Andrea and all the team. I hope you have yourself a very merry Maskmas. Sending seasons wishes from Aotearoa New Zealand.

I hope you have a fabulous mask and test hand out. It's wonderful to see Protect the Heart of the Arts doing something like this again. 🧡💗❤️❄️🎁😷

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

A black card with three hearts with a white line drawn N95 mask inside each one. They are soft pink, shocking pink and bright red, and they overlap. There are random light blue snowflake graphics surrounding the text and the hearts. The text reads - Merry Maskmas - Heart of the arts.

December 13, 2024 at 9:45 AM Everybody can reply

3 reposts 14 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

🚨 OUT, DAMNED VIRUS! 🚨

Disruptions at David Tennant’s Macbeth—illnesses, unruly audiences, a lost voice mid-performance—may be the result of COVID.

To mark these events, #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts💕 launches a mobile PlusLife testing hub for the London arts community.⬇️⬇️😷😷

A press release from "Protect the Heart
of the Arts" announces a new mobile
COVID-19 testing initiative, "The Scottish
Hub," to support London's arts community.
The release details illness-driven
disruptions during Macbeth, including
mid-show substitutions and cancellations
emphasizing COVID's cumulative effects
on performers' health and production
schedules. Co-founder Charles Waltz
highlights the importance of on-site
testing, prevention measures, and marking
these events in community memory to
protect performers and neutralize COVID's
ongoing impact.

A red velvet stage curtain is partially
tied back with an ornate tassel. To the
right, there is a COVID-19 testing device
labeled Pluslife" on a red background
Above it, bold white text reads: "There is
a Long COVID crisis in the performing arts
community." Below the testing device is
the hashtag #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts
followed by a white heart emoji. At
the bottom of the image arelinks for
ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org, social
media handles (X: heartofthe arts,
IG: heartofthe_arts), and heartofthearts.bsky.social.

December 17, 2024 at 6:31 PM Everybody can reply

15 reposts 1 quotes 33 likes

Prof. Rob McLeod

@robscot.bsky.social

"There’s been a tragedy of errors: not just Macbeth, but theatre and the continuing impact of Covid-19... it’s evident that mitigations are key to any industry’s sustainability as a whole."

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...

Foreseeable and forewarned - and that’s not just the cancellations of Macbeth

Protect the Heart of the Arts fights for accessible theatre - and the Macbeth cancellations show why so much more must be done over Covid-19

www.thecanary.co

November 16, 2024 at 7:29 PM Everybody can reply

3 reposts 8 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

Donate here! Shares and likes are most welcome! 🎭💕😷

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

ko-fi.com/protectthehe...

December 18, 2024 at 1:36 PM Everybody can reply

6 reposts 1 quotes 6 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

“On-site testing, like PlusLife, would not only help prevent illness cancellations but also support actors’ health, giving productions the ability to manage these challenges proactively.”
#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts💕
www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/macb...

David Tennant forced off stage for second time amid more Macbeth West End show chaos

Actor David Tennant briefly left the stage during a penultimate Macbeth performance in the West End on Friday as the production faced further chaos.

www.standard.co.uk

December 15, 2024 at 1:06 AM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 5 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

🚨PRESS RELEASE🚨

Long COVID-suffering performers sounded the alarm on the Long COVID emergency in the arts outside #EEBAFTAs.

One protestor chanted “Silence=Death” echoing the estimated 27m people who have died from COVID.

Share/tag news + big accounts to get the word out⬇️⬇️

February 16, 2025 at 8:24 PM Everybody can reply

28 reposts 1 quotes 58 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

🚨HELP US SOUND THE ALARM ON COVID/LONG COVID IN THE ARTS 😷🎭🚨

🌐 Participate online: Mid-Jan
📍 Join in person: London, mid-Feb
♿️ Everyone is welcome—especially people with disabilities!

💌 Comment, DM, or e-mail for details:
#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

A black flyer with pink borders and white text asking for participants to help raise awareness about Long COVID in the arts. The title reads: "Want to help raise awareness of COVID/Long COVID in the arts?" A teal and pink ribbon is in the top left corner. Below, it states: "Anyone can join, even if you're housebound, bedbound, or unhoused." It highlights two ways to participate: online in mid-January and in person in London in mid-February. The flyer features a black-and-white photo of a masked person in sunglasses and a fur coat, with pink heart graphics overlaying the image. It explicitly welcomes people with disabilities and members of the COVID-conscious community. Contact information is included: ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts@gmail.com, and social media handles on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Bluesky, under "heartofthe_arts" and "heartofthearts."

January 5, 2025 at 12:40 PM Everybody can reply

10 reposts 15 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

CURSED PLAY OR A PERFECT STORM? 🎭🦠

David Tennant’s Macbeth saw cancellations, mid-show voice loss, & unruly audiences. Are these freak occurrences — or is COVID still disrupting theatre?

Let’s seize the narrative!🔥😷
Tag news/big accounts to #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts 💕⬇️⬇️

This image features an article titled
"Cursed Play or a Perfect Storm of
Problems in an Ongoing Pandemic: David
Tennant's Macbeth and the Long COVID
Crisis in the Performing Arts" by Charles
Waltz. The text discusses the impact of
COVID on theatre productions, focusing on
illness-related cancellations at Macbeth
starring David Tennant, effects of COVID
on performers' immune systems, and the
proader performing arts industry.

The continuation of the article expands
on COVID-related disruptions in theatre.
including audience behavior issues
mid-show voice loss for actors, ana
long-term damage to performers health.
It emphasizes systemic reforms for
occupational safety, such as improved
air filtration, testing, and masking, while
recognizing Macbeth's success despite
challenges.

A headline from The Standard reads.
"David Tennant forced off stage for
second time in a week amid more Macbeth
West End show chaos." Below, there is a
close-up photo of David Tennant's face,
showing him with a serious expression,
slightly furrowed brows, and visible
stubble. He is wearing a blue shirt. The
caption mentions Tennant's nomination
for his role in Doctor Who. The article is
credited to journalists Lisa McLoughlin and
Anthony France.

December 16, 2024 at 7:53 PM Everybody can reply

3 reposts 10 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

“On-site testing, like PlusLife, would not only help prevent illness cancellations but also support actors’ health, giving productions the ability to manage these challenges proactively.” #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts💕
www.broadwayworld.com/westend/arti...

David Tennant Forced Off-Stage Mid-Show for Second Time as MACBETH Castmate Falls Ill

According to the Standard, David Tennant was forced off stage for the second time this week, after a castmate fell ill and an understudy had to take her place during Friday's penultimate performance o...

www.broadwayworld.com

December 16, 2024 at 8:03 AM Everybody can reply

6 reposts 1 quotes 10 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

Graphic features at the center, a background with a red curtain to the left side, tied back with a red rope and tassel. A photo of a PlusLife testing unit and the Protect The Heart Of The Arts ribbon pin, a teal, grey, and white ribbons featuring a double heart, sits within the field surrounded by white text that reads as follows: There is a Long COVID crisis in the performing arts community.

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org
X: heartofthe_arts IG: heartofthe_arts heartofthearts.bsky.social

Above the graphic in a field of red is white text that reads: This is a little piece of Magic.
Below the graphic in a field of red is white text that reads as: The Altruan Pluslife is as fast as a Rapid Test, with the high accuracy of a PCR. It tests for COVID & a raft of other viruses! A powerful little machine!

Graphic features a red background with a red curtain to the left side, tied back with a red rope and tassel. White text reads as follows: We are fundraising for a mobile Pluslife unit, supported by mutual aid, which will be available for ALL of the London Arts Community to use - to monitor their health, and catch cases early.

December 18, 2024 at 1:30 PM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 3 likes

Inclusive New Normal

@inclusivenew.bsky.social

Shows cancelled due to sickness, increasing numbers of actors & performers with Long Covid, a tidal wave of seasonal airborne infections overwhelming hospitals, please support this action to #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts & help keep everyone safe #MasksWork #HEPAsHelp #OpenWindows

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷 @heartofthearts.bsky.social · Dec 12

**INVITATION**😷😷😷

Join @heartofthearts.bsky.social 💕for a festive mask hand-out! 🎭😷🎄
📅 Fri, Dec 13 | 🕠 5:30–7:30 PM
📍 Harold Pinter Theatre, London SW1Y 4DN
🎅🏻Festive attire optional, but welcome.
Let’s help keep our theatre community safe! #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts 💕

Invite flyer shows beige background with black and red text with festive artwork, featuring a N95 masked sketch of Shakespeare in a Santa hat. Text reads as follows:

With Yuletide Cheer, We invite thee to a mask hand-out

Friday 13 Dec.
5:30-7:30 pm

Harold Pinter Theatre
6 Panton Street
London
SWIY ADN

Festive attire suggested, but optional.:

PROTECT THE HEART OF THE ARTS
ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org
X: heartofthe_arts
IG: heartofthe_arts
heartofthearts.bsky.social

December 13, 2024 at 11:41 AM Everybody can reply

4 reposts 13 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

**LONDON MASK HAND-OUT**

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts, a campaign of performers suffering from Long Covid, and allies, will sound the alarm on Covid’s devastating impact on the performing arts.

Likes/shares help get the word out.

ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.carrd.co
cc @neilhimself.neilgaiman.com

Invitation. Purple rectangle. Text: Protect the heart of the arts. London Mask Hand-out. Donmar Warehouse 41 Earlham Street London. Sat 16 Dec 6-7:30 pm.

December 15, 2023 at 11:31 AM Everybody can reply

9 reposts 3 quotes 19 likes

Melissa Challenor

@picklemelissa.bsky.social

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

@DonmarWarehouse for Macbeth starring #DavidTennant

COVID safe performances and venues for punters and players 😷

London 🇬🇧 and the world 🗺️

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷 @heartofthearts.bsky.social · Dec 16

*PRESS COVERAGE!*

Bylines Cymru’s🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 article on “Protect the Heart of the Arts” mask hand-out at David Tennant’s Macbeth.

Performers with Long Covid will sound the alarm on Covid’s devastating impact on performing arts.😷

TONIGHT Sat 16 Dec 6 pm, Donmar Warehouse, London.
@neilhimself.neilgaiman.com

Bylines Network @bylinesnetwork.co.uk · Dec 16

’Alas, poor country!’: performers suffering from long Covid to distribute masks at David Tennant’s Macbeth tonight

Performing artists, staff, and patrons are impacted by long Covid. Venues need mitigations including masks. Covid is airborne and not over.

December 16, 2023 at 1:34 PM Everybody can reply

6 reposts 16 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

Graphic features an antiqued white background with pine cones, pine branches, and mistletoe designs along the edges. A photo of a PlusLife with Santa hat is centered along with black and red text that reads as follows:

This festive season we invite thee to contribute towardsba PlusLife testing unit for benefit of the London arts' community.

PlusLife would offer accurate. on-site test results for winter illnesses including COVID, Influenza. and RSV. A mobile unit onlv costs £200. ko-fi.com/protecttheheartofthearts

PROTECT THE HEART OF THE ARTS

ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org
X: heartofthe _arts
IG: heartofthe_arts
heartofthearts.bsky.social

December 13, 2024 at 3:06 PM Everybody can reply

5 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

**INVITATION**😷😷😷

Join @heartofthearts.bsky.social 💕for a festive mask hand-out! 🎭😷🎄
📅 Fri, Dec 13 | 🕠 5:30–7:30 PM
📍 Harold Pinter Theatre, London SW1Y 4DN
🎅🏻Festive attire optional, but welcome.
Let’s help keep our theatre community safe! #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts 💕

Invite flyer shows beige background with black and red text with festive artwork, featuring a N95 masked sketch of Shakespeare in a Santa hat. Text reads as follows:

With Yuletide Cheer, We invite thee to a mask hand-out

Friday 13 Dec.
5:30-7:30 pm

Harold Pinter Theatre
6 Panton Street
London
SWIY ADN

Festive attire suggested, but optional.:

PROTECT THE HEART OF THE ARTS
ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org
X: heartofthe_arts
IG: heartofthe_arts
heartofthearts.bsky.social

December 12, 2024 at 5:21 PM Everybody can reply

7 reposts 3 quotes 12 likes

Inclusive New Normal

@inclusivenew.bsky.social

"Health campaigners raise awareness after David Tennant's Macbeth cancellations. It comes after the West End production was forced to cancel several shows last month due to ‘company illness’". Great article 🙏 Festive 'maskout' Friday 13/12, 5.30-7.30pm Harold Pinter Theatre #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷 @heartofthearts.bsky.social · Dec 13

🚨🚨🚨 PRESS COVERAGE! 🚨🚨🚨

www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/davi...

Health campaigners raise awareness after David Tennant's Macbeth cancellations

It comes after the West End production was forced to cancel several shows last month due to ‘company illness’

www.standard.co.uk

December 13, 2024 at 4:34 PM Everybody can reply

12 reposts 21 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

Support the London arts community this festive season! 🎭😷

Contribute to a PlusLife testing unit so performers + creatives have access to accurate, on-site results for COVID, flu & RSV.
A mobile unit costs just £200.
Donate here ko-fi.com/protectthehe...
#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts

Flyer has a biege background and features black and red text with festive motifs with a photo of a PlusLife unit with a Santa hat photoshopped on. Text reads as follows:

This festive season, we invite thee to contribute towards a PlusLife testing unit for benefit of the London arts community.

PlusLife would offer accurate, on-site test results for winter illnesses including COVID, Influenza, and RSV.

A mobile unit only costs £200,
ko-fi.com/protecttheheartofthearts
PROTECT THE HEART OF THE ARTS

ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org
X: heartofthe_arts
IG: heartofthe_arts
heartofthearts.bsky.social

December 12, 2024 at 5:35 PM Everybody can reply

12 reposts 5 quotes 19 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

“On Friday, a grassroots campaign called #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts 💕 offered face masks 😷 and Covid tests outside Harold Pinter Theatre as part of a health safety awareness campaign, after several performances of the production were cancelled due to illness.”
www.broadwayworld.com/westend/arti...

David Tennant Forced Off-Stage Mid-Show for Second Time as MACBETH Castmate Falls Ill

According to the Standard, David Tennant was forced off stage for the second time this week, after a castmate fell ill and an understudy had to take her place during Friday's penultimate performance o...

www.broadwayworld.com

December 16, 2024 at 8:36 AM Everybody can reply

8 reposts 13 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

Graphic features an antiqued white background with pine cones, pine branches, and mistletoe designs along the edges. A photo of a PlusLife with Santa hat is centered along with black and red text that reads as follows: This festive season we invite thee to contribute towardsba PlusLife testing unit for benefit of the London arts' community.

PlusLife would offer accurate. on-site test results for winter illnesses including COVID, Influenza. and RSV. A mobile unit onlv costs £200. ko-fi.com/protecttheheartofthearts

PROTECT THE HEART OF THE ARTS

ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.org
X: heartofthe _arts
IG: heartofthe_arts
heartofthearts.bsky.social

December 18, 2024 at 1:30 PM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 5 likes

Esther

@elhopkins.bsky.social

I am very grateful to groups like #Protecttheheartofthearts for raising awareness of the need for audiences to protect performers. Performers have been heavily impacted by COVID and we need a change in guidance to protect them from #Longcovid and also enable clinically vulnerable to access 🧵

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷 @heartofthearts.bsky.social · Dec 15

**LONDON MASK HAND-OUT**

#ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts, a campaign of performers suffering from Long Covid, and allies, will sound the alarm on Covid’s devastating impact on the performing arts.

Likes/shares help get the word out.

ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts.carrd.co
cc @neilhimself.neilgaiman.com

Invitation. Purple rectangle. Text: Protect the heart of the arts. London Mask Hand-out. Donmar Warehouse 41 Earlham Street London. Sat 16 Dec 6-7:30 pm.

November 19, 2024 at 2:35 PM Everybody can reply

7 reposts 18 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

“Covid-19 infections can have lasting effects on the vocal apparatus, including inflammation and fatigue, which can impair a performer’s ability to meet the demands of a production.” #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts💕
www.broadwayworld.com/westend/arti...

David Tennant Forced Off-Stage Mid-Show for Second Time as MACBETH Castmate Falls Ill

According to the Standard, David Tennant was forced off stage for the second time this week, after a castmate fell ill and an understudy had to take her place during Friday's penultimate performance o...

www.broadwayworld.com

December 16, 2024 at 8:02 AM Everybody can reply

3 reposts 1 quotes 9 likes

Protect the Heart of the Arts 💕🎗️🌈 😷

@heartofthearts.bsky.social

“In 2022, a Journal of Voice study revealed that 30% of Broadway singers continued to experience vocal fatigue, reduced range, or chronic inflammation after recovering from COVID-19.” #ProtectTheHeartOfTheArts💕

www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...

A ‘silent’ epidemic: has Covid-19 damaged the voices of artists like Macbeth's Lady Macduff??

Voice loss at David Tennant’s Macbeth and the vocal health crisis in the performing arts: is it actually linked to Covid-19?

www.thecanary.co

December 21, 2024 at 7:01 PM Everybody can reply

13 reposts 1 quotes 26 likes

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