We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The UK government is recommending caution as we begin to come out of the national lockdown. Even though there is talk of the easing plans for 21st June being affected due to the variant from India, 17th May is scheduled as planned, and theatres will be allowed to reopen. Socially distanced.
But perhaps we should also be cautious, not just about welcoming audiences and their safety, but also thinking about the safety of equality, diversity and the work of PoC, which have all been fragile during this testing time.
The pandemic has upturned the arts sector like nothing in living memory, and generating profits no doubt will be on the top of agendas for most producing houses, venues and companies across the country.
Back in April 2020, Sarah Brigham, artistic director of Derby Theatre, warned that post-pandemic recovery would likely see programmers make ‘fewer risks’ on new and challenging work, and would opt for more light-hearted, commercially-driven, mainstream work; in other words, work that is generally seen as white-centred.
I echo this feeling somewhat, and am concerned that in the rush to build back our sector quick, we could go back decades in regards to range of opportunities, diversity and representation of voices, which usually thrive on the fringes. If this work was seen as risky before the pandemic, it certainly has a tougher hill to climb post-pandemic, and arguably in a much more risk-averse context.
But perhaps this could also be an opportunity for other parts of the sector to get involved in the recovery. If freelancers are the lifeblood of our sector, then smaller companies are the vital organs. It might be that the smaller companies will help bolster and balance the programming mix post-pandemic, while the bigger venues focus on more commercial fare; and it might be that great things come out of this revitalising context. We will have to wait and see.
Just, let’s not lose sight of everything that matters, not just the money.