Australian theatre grapples with access, diversity and job losses through the coronavirus shutdown Posted FriFriday 18 DecDecember 2020 at 7:03pm The Sydney Opera House was among the thousands of venues across Australia that went dark at the onset of the pandemic. ( Share Print text only Cancel It's hard to quantify just how damaging 2020 has been for the Australian theatre sector. Performing arts workers — from writers and directors to ushers, stagehands and lighting artists — lost work overnight, after theatres across the country went dark in March. Due to the short-term contract-based nature of their work, many were let go without severance pay and were not eligible for JobKeeper.