What needs to change in theatre for 2021?
After the NIGHTMARE year that was 2020, every has entered into the New Year with the hope for things to be better. Many of us are trying to stay optimistic - vaccinations against Covid-19 are rolling out across the globe, and we’re looking forward to a time when the world can open up a little more.
Obviously, I had a difficult year personally with my redundancy - but the distance has allowed me to think a LOT about what I think needs to change in theatre. Let’s be frank - our industry is problematic, and if there was ever a time to address a number of issues it’s when we’re doing a bit of a reset since our Covid-enforced ‘pause’.
So,, what type of things do we need to address? Here are a few:
Communities being marginalised/displaced in favour of commercially-driven art
Jobs being offered through the back door (i.e. to mates, or speculative enquiries) rather than being advertised
Local artists being gaslit through workshops delivered by 'external practitioners', which imply local artists lack skills/knowledge
Youth/community work not being considered 'core activity', and marginalised from main artistic strands
Freelancers being treated as though they have the same capacity as orgs
Staff in buildings being treated as though they endorse all the the sins of their employers
Arts leaders not admitting to/owning their mistakes & failures, which allows us all to learn from them
Not giving honest feedback to shortlisted/interviewed candidates
Not replying AT ALL to people who apply for opportunities, not even to say "not this time"
Those in secure paid jobs asking freelancers to give their time for free to solve problems of access/inequality
People lying about their privilege to pretend they've had a huge struggle
Unpaid 3+ month full time internships
A lack of recognition of just how fucking HARD it is to work in the arts, and how people's mental health is at an all-time low after 2020
The big themes here?
Be honest. Be generous. Be kind.
And let's be frank - this is stuff we've needed to sort every year. Let's get on it.
