Nick Young-Wolfe’s Post

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Director @ MUTI Live

A recent report by Solange Urdang OBE, FRSA at the Black British Theatre Awards has found that "79% of respondents felt unsupported in entering the industry in offstage roles." higher than those in onstage roles (which is also still far too high). As a dual-heritage theatre professional with over 20 years in industry this sadly comes as no surprise. In my experience there have been many well meaning initiatives by compassionate and intelligent sector leaders, which have failed to make real change. The truth is that there are only so many panels, round tables, and dense papers (often missing the voices that they are about) that you can attend or wade through before fatigue sets in. There are only so many free tickets you can give away for press nights before things start to creak. Onstage representation feels better now than ever. Offstage still feels lacking to piss poor. I'm not, despite how this might read, laying into theatres' leadership. I think there is a genuine desire to enact change, and I think people at the top are as exhausted and frustrated as anyone else. For my tuppence worth there are two things that could/should change to make a difference. First and foremost there needs to be better recruitment and training of diverse staff throughout all roles and levels within organisations. You might come to see a show that has people like you onstage, but if your entire experience until you sit down has not had any direct interactions with people like you then you've already had to overcome multiple micro-barriers. You might simply feel that this place, despite its progressive art, is not for you. (little shout out to the people working as a solo minority in your organisation - I see you and respect you). Secondly, the stories being told need to better represent the actual experience of our diverse communities, not the romanticised version of them. I bet if you stack up the number of plays on Black historical trauma vs Black Succession-esque dramas it would be very lopsided. Similar of 'gritty' working class hard hitting tales of struggle vs council estate magical realism. Theatre, I love you. But something's not working. Time to be brave and make different choices. Treat the communities that you're trying to reach like real people, just like you, rather than a cypher. All the free tickets in the world are not going to solve your problems.

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