It's easy to be sniffy and dismissive of the arts. I mean my company is FNA for goodness sake, but it’s not all ponces making pretentious stuff that you need a degree in dadaism to understand. From pantomime to Pinter, from opera to Ozark, from Peaky Blinders to Mrs Brown’s Boys, and from Chernobyl to CBeebies - without regional theatre companies, indie film companies, comedy clubs, and useless degrees like media studies and drama - none of it would exist.
The arts and the creative industries are hugely important to the wellbeing of this country both culturally and economically and that's before you get into the emotional benefits. All of the TV, boxsets and online content that got you through lockdown? That was created by artists - and they probably started out on a stage in a tiny theatre or tiny comedy club in a tiny town in the provinces. Our arts are already suffering from a lack of diversity - not just from an ethnicity and gender point of view - but crucially from an economic perspective too. Where can working class writers, performers, directors and technicians learn their craft if this ecosystem is allowed to die? Their voices are already priced out of much of the industry because they cannot afford to live in London and/ or work an unpaid internship for a year. Like the working men's clubs circuit before it, once the stand up circuit goes - it’s gone and hundreds of jobs will be lost forever - but because it’s not a fish packing factory in Grimsby or a car plant in Sunderland nobody will care. Almost 78% of comedy venues say they will close next year. £1.5 BILLION is a lot and it will save a few larger venues, but it’s chickenfeed when you look the size of our sector. The creative industries contribute more to the British economy than agriculture and fishing. Combined. Small theatre and film companies, and comedy clubs - as well as much of the workforce in the creative industries has been left out of the majority of the support schemes the government has put in place to mitigate the Covid-19 crisis - we are trying to hang on as we realise our value in the ecosystem even if you don’t.
Don’t let the government and press convince you that the arts is just some high-falutin’ intellectual pursuit for rich people. Our voices - your voices - and stories, deserve to be heard - when the arts dies, where will the new Sam Fender or Sarah Millican come from? How will the new Jade Thirlwell, Joe McElderry, or Lost Voice Guy hone their craft in order to be discovered? Award winning actor Dave Johns, and perennial favourite Robson Green - both started out on stage in the North East before going on to light up your screens. Just like every ecosystem in nature - it’s all connected and it thrives on biodiversity. SIGN THE PETITIONS. SUPPORT THE ARTS. SUPPORT COMEDY. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC.
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