One of Scottish Opera’s lorries. Photo: Scottish Opera via Twitter
Scottish Opera has repurposed lorries ordinarily used to transport its set to venues in order to help restock supermarkets.
The opera company’s drivers have been using their cabs to help deliver food to Tesco stores in Scotland, as supermarkets face unprecedented demand from shoppers during the coronavirus crisis.
Rather than transport the set for Scottish Opera’s forthcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh – which has been postponed until further notice along with all of the company’s public work – two of its lorries have instead been used to help deliver supplies to Tesco stores in Aberdeen.
Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera’s general director, said the company had been linked up with Tesco after the supermarket chain contacted a local general haulage company asking for help.
“We have an informal agreement with a local general haulage company, Stuart Nicol Transport. We help each other out at our respective peak times. Tesco initially contacted them and they were unable to meet all of their needs, so SNT put them on to us.
“Scottish Opera is only too happy to help out in any way, as we all need to pull together in this time. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the coronavirus, especially those in the NHS working on the front line,” he said.
Coronavirus: breaking news and live updates as the theatre industry responds
Want to continue reading?
Support The Stage with a subscription
We believe in fair pay for everyone who works in the arts, and that includes all our journalists and the whole team who create The Stage each week.
As a family-run, independently-owned publication, we rely on our readers’ subscriptions to pay journalists to produce the informed and in-depth articles you want to read.
The Stage will always strive to report on great work across the country, champion new talent and publish impartial investigative journalism. Our independence allows us to deliver unbiased reporting that supports the performing arts industry, but we can only do this with your help.
