Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, Britain’s beloved theatre industry has been incapacitated with “70% of theatres across the UK [facing] permanent closure” following lockdown and some just now beginning to put on socially distanced performances (The Guardian, 2020). Not only has the economy suffered, considering theatre “contributes £10.8 billion a year” to it, but many actors have been forced out of work because of venues being shut (Arts Council England, 2019).
Natalie Anson-Wright, a professional actor/acting coach based in London, discussed with me the consequences of the industry abruptly coming to a halt on herself personally and the acting world as a whole. “Right at the beginning I had quite a few jobs cancelled even before the official lockdown was put into place” she explained when asked how her career had been affected. She also was unable to continue her acting coaching physically so had to translate those classes online.
Having employment opportunities revoked must be disheartening for arts industry workers as well as daunting from a financial perspective. In an attempt to mitigate their distress, the UK Government announced back in July that arts industries would receive a £1.57 billion rescue package to rehabilitate them and keep them operating whilst they are closed. When asked if she had benefited in any way from this funding, Anson-Wright said that she had received a grant and described it as “helpful but not really, particularly since it’s of your net profit not your gross profit.” She expressed her exasperation with how self-employed people were treated and said, “We’ve only had six months covered at a much lower rate than everyone else on Furlough.” Freelancers couldn’t even claim for Furlough because they are only employed for short periods of time which Anson-Wright believed must’ve been a “really heartbreaking” situation.
Of course, we naturally came onto Rishi Sunak’s controversial response in an interview with ITV that suggested that arts workers (along with those in other industries) should retrain in another field and “find ways to adapt.” Released alongside this was the now infamous Government advert suggesting that a ballerina should retrain in cyber security. After widespread backlash from the public, the advert was taken down and deemed "not appropriate" by a No. 10 spokesperson. “[Britain] really [is] at the forefront of the industry… it is where we shine as a country and yet there is so much disregard for it,” said Anson-Wright. She also commented on how the government hadn’t taken into consideration that “98% of actors are jobbing actors so have retrained, they have got other jobs” and described the remarks they gave as “the biggest smack in the face.”
Finally, we discussed what the future holds for Britain’s theatre industry and if there is hope for it thriving once venues are officially reopened. Anson-Wright remained realistic yet hopeful and said, “I think the regional theatres, the smaller theatres will have been crippled quite drastically… but if when everything opens they can get a show put on and start again, then I think that theatres will flourish.” I asked if the theatre industry may become stagnant as a result of it being closed for so long but she stood firm in her convictions. “There is always going to be a calling” said Anson-Wright, “There is always going to be a need for it and storytelling is the oldest craft that there is so nothing will stop it. Nothing in this world will make that go away.”
