I hope it has now become clearer what is intended when ppl speak about Britain being a “world leader” in theatre. It’s the big West End shows that generate billions in direct and indirect revenue exploiting the post-colonial privilege afforded to the English language 1/

It’s not about the overall (and not empirically measurable) quality, or even depth of reach, but about the sheer capacity for consumption generated by the apex of the industry. This govt might well bail out such a huge asset in terms of reputation and soft power 2/

but we should all be both vigilant and demanding when whatever package is announced. Especially when it comes to those subsidized orgs that have profitable commercial arms. For example, if commercial producers are bailed out with public money, how do we make sure that 3/

in the medium and long term part of that money is reinvested specifically in the subsidized sector that do all the training and shore up most of the talent and audience development investment that the is benefitted from the biggest players? 4/

Perhaps there could be a mandatory 3% levy on commercial ticket sales, the proceedings of which are ring fenced to be invested into ACE or a specific fund to support freelance creative workers. American blockbusters like Disney shows or Hamilton could make a huge contribution 5/

to supporting grassroots, training, outreach and better representation, with the money reinvested in orgs that know what they’re doing and have a track record, rather than bigger orgs trying to co-opt more radical and innovative models and inevitably institutionalizing them 6/

in the process. We give bigger orgs the lion share of subsidy, then ask them to cover a huge remit and deliver all their programs in house, when there could be a more virtuous and porous ecology to invest in, which is less about competition and more about collective benefit 7/

both at local and national level. So, to go back to the beginning of the thread, and the financial and reputational leadership that British theatre prides itself with, I have no problem with that as long as we recognize that it is built on a system of privilege and those who 8/

benefit from it are willing to share its fruits with those who literally DO THE WORK now and those who will DO THE WORK after them. And that’s not just artists, it’s all of those who DO THE WORK (they know who they are). END/