Tough start for Everyman's new artistic director as she can't set foot in the theatre  

Until the lockdown eases, Sophie Motley has to make her plans from abroad. But she is using her time to plot a joyful experience for audiences when they do return to the Cork venue 

Sophie Motley has just begun her role as artistic director of the Everyman theatre in Cork.

When Sophie Motley was last in the Everyman Palace Theatre in Cork, in the summer of 2019, little did she know that a year-and-a-half later she would be artistic director of the venue — and unable to set foot inside the building.

“The last time I was in the Everyman building was midsummer 2019, and on Monday I am going to be running that building, yet I’ve not been in there. Thankfully, there is a brilliant 360° virtual tour so I have been standing on the stage looking out on the auditorium and thinking, what will it look like if every four seats, you’ve got a person, will that still feel like a full building and how will people feel safe?”