Orchestral manoeuvres shed light on dark social media vaccine fears

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is behind a video that encourages people to have the vaccine and give Covid its ‘final curtain call’.

A still from the ‘performance of a lifetime’ vaccine campaign.

Tim Minchin, Rhonda Burchmore and Virginia Gay have appeared in a social media video that urges people to step up for the “performance of a lifetime” and have themselves vaccinated for Covid-19.

In an unusual move for a performing arts organisation, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra planned and produced the two-minute message, which went live online on Monday and has been viewed 100,000 times.

The clip has an upbeat tone and explains why it’s important to have the vaccine, while gently addressing some fears people may have.

It shows people waiting in a queue at the vaccination hub at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, then having the jab, and waiting in the rest area afterwards.

In the video, MSO co-concertmaster Sophie Rowell says it’s normal to be nervous before giving the “performance of a lifetime”, and Minchin warns of the “pretty massive plot holes” in some claims about the vaccines that are circulating on social media.

MSO managing director Sophie Galaise said the orchestra’s production manager, Steele Foster, had the idea for the video, which was made with MSO resources and did not involve funding or direction from the Victorian government. Other artists and arts organisations contributed their services for free.

Galaise said the performing arts depended on a high rate of vaccination in the community so venues could open at full capacity. It was not economical for the ­orchestra to perform for vastly ­reduced audiences because of ­social distancing, she said.

“You look at our colleagues around the world – orchestras and theatres are restarting in other countries because the vaccination level is higher than in Australia,” she said.

“We decided to do our part and start this social media campaign to address some of the underlying reasons for vaccine hesitancy.”

Written and directed by Emma Muir-Smith, the video uses powerful theatrical metaphors to encourage people to inoculate to give Covid “its final curtain call”. It features Melbourne-based artists including Meow Meow, Deborah Cheetham and musical trio Tripod, and organisations such as the Melbourne Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne.

Several versions of the video have been produced with titles in Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi and Vietnamese.