Since the first lockdown – way back in March when all of culture was shut down – I started saving £2 coins in a jar labelled “theatre, gigs, concerts, fun”. I’m five jars in now and on course to fill a few more, as it looks like performance spaces, first to close, will be last to open. It’s hard to imagine a mosh pit now or time spent queueing at the bar in the interval, or a world where we allow someone to shuffle past us to get to their seat in the theatre without accusing them of attempted murder.
For an audience member, life isn’t that bad – we can eat crisps and consume box sets, and for most of 2020 we’ve been able to access brilliant theatre and music on digital streaming platforms at a fraction of the cost of a live ticket. On Sky Arts we saw audience numbers double, so we know there’s a hunger for arts content.
But for performers and the armies of freelance staff who work in myriad jobs behind the scenes in theatres and concert venues all over the UK, it’s an anxious, often heartbreaking time of job losses and uncertainty – and we are in danger of losing an entire generation of talent, as well as losing the momentum the cultural community has built up around diversity and inclusivity. The Office for National Statistics has in fact just published data revealing a drop of 44 per cent of black and minority ethnic women working in the arts and entertainment sector, which is extremely worrying.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sky-arts-covid-lockdown-theatre-b1795394.html