AS THE route out of lockdown takes another step forward this week, those in the events and performing industries are still waiting patiently for their chance to shine.

When coronavirus swept across the UK last year, music, theatre and stand-up comedy tours were brought to a standstill.

Some in these fields were able to resume their passions over the summer months, albeit in a rather different environment, in 2020 when restrictions eased before winter arrived and they were plunged back into months of uncertainty.

The lockdown easing in May is set to see outdoor performances resume and Adrienne Coles, founder of Bournemouth-based Coastal Comedy, is counting down the days until she can be back on stage.

As reported, Coastal Comedy is putting on monthly shows at Bournemouth Electric Club throughout the summer, while events have also been planned for the amphitheatre at Poole Lighthouse.

Asked about how challenging the past year had been, Adrienne told the Daily Echo: "It has been absolutely awful. I can’t say anything or make it any better really.

“It has been like a roller coaster that I am going downhill and I am slightly, hopefully, on the way up now but it has been terrible.

“It is much like a musician really, it must be in your blood, it is your passion.

“For me with Coastal Comedy, I built that up from scratch from being in a small hotel room in Bournemouth with a few chairs to then going on winning awards, being at the Lighthouse in the small studio, then I am at the Lighthouse in the huge 650-seater theatre with not a spare seat in the house.

“I never took it for granted though. I would pinch myself that I am doing this job and I absolutely love it and then one day, as we all know, it has come to a stop."

She added: “I have missed so much. It is not just the performing. I love people and it is the interaction with people, the acts and the audience and everyone else involved, but it is also the stimulation I get. I book the acts, I promote every show, I see the ticket sales come in, I win a sponsor. All these things are what stimulate me and it is all part of my life, which I absolutely love.

“I have cleaned out lots of drawers and cupboards and done lots of gardening, I am just not getting what I really need at the moment, but then so many of us aren’t. We have all had to learn to adjust to what is really quite a dull existence but the thought of this coming back now.

“I am working flat out, and I just don’t mind. I was working until 10pm at home last night but I don’t mind, I love it, I absolutely love it.

“Let’s hope everything goes as we plan. I hope everyone gets their vaccine so we can get back to a new sort of normal life – that’s what I really hope."