To celebrate creative resilience and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Norwich Theatre today publishes What’s Past is Prologue, its new Review publication, alongside a series of brand new performance poems by Norfolk-based poet and NHS Critical Care Nurse, Piers Harrison-Reid.

Covering the time since March 2020 when the pandemic closed Norwich Theatre’s stages and venues, What’s Past is Prologue celebrates how, with the support of many people and partners, Norwich Theatre found innovative and engaging ways to generate creative experiences for the good of Norwich, Norfolk, the East and their communities.

In tandem with this publication, Norwich Theatre is sharing a series of performance poems by Norfolk-based poet and NHS Critical Care Nurse, Piers Harrison-Reid. Piers is best known for his viral love poem to the NHS’s 70th Birthday, ‘Love is for the Brave’.

Commissioned by Norwich Theatre and written across the whole period, The Passions of Pandemic offers a unique perspective of how moments of creativity got us through some of the darkest moments of the lockdown and how creativity will help heal us after the COVID-19 pandemic finally ends.

The filmed performances of the poems have been created by Luke Bryant and will feature on Norwich Theatre’s Digital Stage and social media. They allow audiences to reflect on personal experiences of the pandemic and the importance of creativity and togetherness.

Chief Executive and Creative Director of Norwich Theatre, Stephen Crocker, said: “As we look to the future, the thought that is almost constantly on my mind is best expressed in words from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. They speak to me of acceptance of the storm that has been weathered and of looking to the future with excitement and hope: “What’s past is prologue”. We are delighted to publish our new Review, which looks back on 2020 and 2021 and which takes this poignant quotation as its title. And alongside the Review to share Piers’ incredible poetry is an important part of healing from the pandemic.
“We hope it celebrates how, with the support of many people and partners, we were able to meet restrictions with creativity and bravery. The review also marks the start of a new era, one of determination from Norwich Theatre for even more impactful creative output and engagement.”

The films and Review are available now on the Norwich Theatre website: norwichtheatre.org [Live from Tuesday 25 January]