I had the pleasure of teaching the MA Producing students @CSSDLondon over the past 10 weeks about the creative industry. Research for the lecture series threw up some interesting things about the arts that I want to share with @OliverDowden @DCMS @10DowningStreet

THREAD

1/ Respondents to an @IpsosMORI poll commissioned for ‘As Others See Us’ @BritishCouncil overwhelming listed Culture as the ‘one thing’ that makes the UK attractive to them.

https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/as_others_see_us_2016_0.pdf

2/ Also in that report, respondents listed ‘Arts’ (36%) as one of the top 3 characteristics making the UK attractive to them.

In comparison, ‘The current and past actions of its government’ (10%) were only listed higher than ‘None of these’ (6%) as an attractive trait.

3/ In that report as well, they asked people from the following countries to confirm if they agreed/disagreed that ‘The UK has world leading arts and cultural institutions and attractions’:

Brazil: 74% agreed
China: 86%
Germany: 75%
India: 83%
US: 71%

4/ When I spoke to @LBC yesterday I mentioned all the people and companies who are integral to our business that are falling on hard times. This article from @guardian (yes slightly out of date) shows that the industry isn’t full of massive earners: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/08/theatre-directors-survey-low-wages-britain

5/ People work very long hours for very low pay in order to create world-beating creative content. Let’s not forget the 2012 Opening Ceremony - @BorisJohnson you were there? – showcased the Best of Britain. Where is that support now that the celebration has stopped?

6/But also how is the @10DowningStreet looking to support companies like @WhitelightLtd and @StagesoundUK who are integral to the supply chains for many shows, including the huge WE ones that bring in masses of revenue in tax, tourism and trade?

7/ I’ve had the absolute pleasure of mentoring over 25 new and emerging theatre companies during my career – what about them? Where are their opportunities going to come from with no support for industry-wide showcases such as @brightonfringe and @VAULTFestival?

8/ What about the theatres that have already announced plans for redundancies? @TRPlymouth @NSTheatres @brumhippodrome have already announced difficulties but 70% of theatres face closure due to C19. What is going to be done to save them? https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jun/09/majority-of-uk-theatres-and-music-venues-face-permanent-shutdown

9/ @OliverDowden the industry is imploring you to step in to help. We don’t usually say it as we are a hard-working, proud bunch, but we’re saying it now.

We need help.

10/ We need furlough extended. We need to maintain freeze on business rates. We need support for freelancers falling through the cracks. We need financial packages to support theatres.

If the UK really prides itself on its culture, now is the time to show it.

11/ We need more dialogue about this issue on a national level. We now can’t save everyone unfortunately, but we can at least save the whole industry from collapse if we act fast.

@mrjamesob @piersmorgan @bbcquestiontime @itvnews @guardian @TheStage @whatsonstage

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