The Future of Theatre: who is going to help us?
2020 feels like a never ending circle of bad news. Having lost all of my work over night back on March 16th when the UK went into full lockdown, I would of never thought I’d still be sat here six months later. I went from working 70 hour weeks on a brand new musical and other freelance projects, to absolutely no work and an empty diary for the foreseeable.
I moved to Manchester three years ago, to pursue a career in the arts as a Freelance Stage Manager. My whole life has revolved around the theatre from a young age, it’s my passion and I knew I’d always work in some capacity within the field. I have not come across one person on my theatrical journey who hates their job – we thrive in what we do!
Many of us have studied for years, gone to Drama school, completed professional development courses and set up new lives, in new cities so we are close to the chance of professional working life in a highly competitive and specialised industry. More importantly, we now have no way of knowing when this will return and how we will fully manage the crisis with such uncertainty and lack of support for all. This particularly includes people like me, freelancers, who rely on being regularly engaged in productions, projects and touring shows to keep the income flowing. News over the weekend told us that theatres can reopen from 1st November, but with shows already cancelled and one of theatres main money makers, the annual pantomime, rescheduled until next year, is it not already too late?
I have no idea when I will return to freelance work, and what role this may be in. So many people have left the industry, but how many will be fighting for the roles when we do return?
On the plus side, working the long hours and touring around does take its toll, so lockdown did allow me to explore new opportunities and reflect on old ones. I have kept myself busy doing a range of online courses that may help me get a job within another field. Although our skills are transferable, it’s proven difficult to find a middle ground to translate these skills into a more generalised CV for day to day job openings.
More importantly, I decided to become a Manchester BECTU Rep, as the time could not be more fitting. I want to do nothing more than support my peers, colleagues and staff members throughout these difficult times and to assist where I can, with full enthusiasm, on any issues they are facing. Not only did I complete the course to focus on the now, but to focus on the future, on how we can make change as a union going forward, create a better work-life balance for colleagues and how we can support the arts because they need us now more than ever.
Why have the arts been left until last?
Whilst we have seen other industries provided financial aid to match their economic contribution, the arts have not seen the same level of care and aid – why?
Freelancers have been left scrambling together all the funding and grant opportunities they can find, cutting into hard earned savings and crying out for any kind of work to get back on their feet.
Some have been lucky enough to receive furlough through PAYE contracts, but is it really so “lucky” when this has now been cut this and other sectors are gaining continuous support through to October? Other barriers we have faced between employers, the Government and ourselves during lockdown have included entitlement around 0 hour contracts, redundancy pay and holiday entitlement. The Government and our Employers must realise our contribution and recognise we require financial help that is fair to our us and our industry. Providing a £1.57bn emergency grant just didn’t quite cut – I personally didn’t see a penny from it!
Not only do we need government help, but we need each other. Check in with your friends, share resources and knowledge, keep motivating one another to get through this challenging time. We’ve seen many peaceful protests and campaigns across the country including the #WeMakeEvents and Light In Red, to ensure we are heard and to highlight all the individuals in every department who are shouting for help. We will be back, although this is uncertain, the show must go on.