(Credit: Mannheim.de)

The Nationaltheater Mannheim has announced that it will remain shut down until at least March 31, 2021.

Per a statement on the company’s website, after the decision of the federal and state governments to both extend and tighten the lockdown, the city of Mannheim and the Nationaltheater Mannheim agreed to suspend all performances until March 31, 2021. Additionally, all rehearsals and production operations will be largely discontinued in February.

“Anyone who follows the daily reports about the pandemic in Germany and our neighboring countries knows that it will be a long way before we can finally welcome audiences back to our houses,” said the Managing Director Marc Stefan Sickel. “For the Nationaltheater Mannheim with its four divisions, it is particularly important to further develop the existing hygiene and occupational safety measures at the highest level, and to take another close look at the already planned artistic projects and our complex work processes,” added Sickel.

The German government has extended the national lockdown until at least Feb. 14, 2021. Many German theaters, concert halls, and opera houses have already closed until April 2021. The Semperoper Dresden has canceled the remaining part of its regular 2020-21 season and announced its intention to launch an alternative program between April and July 2021.