Virtual pubs, comedy clubs, quiz nights and concerts will be among the attractions as a frazzled UK attempts to shake off, however briefly, its most trying week since the second world war by recreating a Friday night out while in lockdown.
Preparations are under way to keep up a semblance of end-of-week rituals, with pop stars from Alicia Keys to DJ Khaled poised to stream live shows, and comedians including Frankie Boyle polishing routines to deliver online. Groups of friends are working out how to conjure a pub ambience from their front rooms by arranging to meet online dressed up and armed with cocktails, while theatres are streaming performances from their back catalogues, complete with packed audiences, a reminder of a temporarily lost world.
Video-sharing platforms such as Zoom and Houseparty have been among the most downloaded apps in the UK. Psychologists are urging people who might be put off by the technology to give it a try, saying studies show socialising by video has similar benefits to face-to-face interaction. They also say that in times of uncertainty, humans need to establish a consensus with friends about what is going on in the world through socialising, and missing out can increase anxiety.
More than 4,000 people have said they want to take part in a Zoom quiz organised by the Comedy Cow club in Milton Keynes on Friday. More are expected to watch a gig to be streamed by the Stand Comedy club in Edinburgh on Saturday night, after it attracted 7,000 viewers last week.
“When times are tough, as they are now, we need to keep people joining in and create a sense of community,” said Ben Robinson, 36, the organiser of the Comedy Cow quiz, which will be fronted by the Hollyoaks and Casualty actor James Redmond.
Anthony Dorman, promotions manager at The Stand, which has signed up Frankie Boyle, Fred MacAuley, Daniel Sloss and others for its broadcast, said: “There’s something in the British mindset that we want to laugh at ourselves and the world even if it is messed up. We can look at an awful situation and make light of it.”
Live music fans will be able to tune in to pop stars grounded by tour cancellations. TikTok is showing performances on Friday by artists including Jason Derulo, Megan Thee Stallion, and Yungblud.
Peter, Bjorn and John, a Swedish pop act who had a 2006 UK hit with Young Folks, are staging a 36-hour festival on the video-live streaming service Twitch and will perform a set from Stockholm on Friday. The city is not in full lockdown but gatherings of more than 500 people are prohibited.
“We can be in the studio with engineers but there will no crowd,” Bjorn Yttling, 45, told the Guardian. “It’s going to be a little strange.” He said the broadcast would be “a little postcard from the Swedish indie pop and rock scene”.
If you can’t sleep and want to hear some love songs, at midnight the alt folk singer Basia Bulat will be debuting her new album, Are You In Love?, from a spare room in her Montreal flat, which she has rigged up with a disco ball and some domestic lamps. It will stream on Songkick.
“It cheers me up,” she said. “I can’t see my mum and grandma, and my cat is with them. Listening to other people’s music helps me in terms of depression and [dealing with] unknown shifts.”
In St Agnes, Cornwall, a group of eight friends, including a key worker who has spent the week delivering food parcels to vulnerable children, are running a Zoom quiz. “The mental strain has been off the scale,” said Sholto Sanders, 46, the quizmaster. “Everyone is thinking about dying. You need to take your mind off it. People need a bit of fun in their lives.”
In London, inspired by Italy’s “virtual aperitivo” trend where people in isolation gather online to share a drink, Ed Sibley, 30, and more than a dozen of his friends are planning a virtual pub night. A first attempt last week was considered a success, with guests dressing up, conversations centring on “what’s in your fridge”, and a 1am finish.
“The whole thing was characterised by a sense of yearning when you compare it to hanging out in person, but what made it worthwhile was that you are still getting to see the people that you care about,” Sibley said. “With everyone at home, the distinction between the working week and the weekend is quite delicate. At least I know this is the day I’m going to sit on the sofa and drink some prosecco, and Saturday is the day I have a hangover.”
Sophie Scott, the director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said research showed that while people laugh more and feel better after face-to-face meetings than phone calls or texts, there is no difference when it comes to video meetings. “Even if you don’t like the idea of a virtual pub, try it, because the science suggests it does work,” she said.
Seeking laughter in other ways is helpful too, she added. Levels of adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormone, drop and the body increases its uptake of endorphins, causing a measurable increase in the pain threshold.
“When people laugh, they don’t feel exposed or scared. If people find some way of laughing, it suggests we have overcome some of the isolation and fear.”