#7 'Saving' The Arts

Amateur Verses Professional

…focus the Arts Council’s existing grant on making the best possible art by professional artists for the most diverse possible audience.

Nicholas Hytner

The theatre director, Nicholas Hytner, recently published an article in The Guardian in which he suggested that the way to ‘save’ the arts in the UK after 13 years of cuts by the Conservative government was to focus spending on ‘professional’ theatre. In parallel, he argued, another organisation might be set up to fund and sponsor work by community (i.e. unpaid and untrained) artists.

Nicholas Hytner’s professional production of Alan Bennett’s box office smash - The History Boys

Much of the article is a genuine wrestle and concern for an industry which has suffered crisis after crisis but, I have to say, his conclusion is deeply flawed. It plays into the myth that there is proper Art (with a capital A) alongside amateur/community work which is very nice but not really any good. The theatre critic, Michael Billington, has much the same view in talking about the Royal Shakespeare company in this article where he decried community art-making as ‘subordinate’.

‘While education and community projects are important, they are subordinate to the main task’

Michael Billington

There are a number of unhelpful assumptions with this view. The first is that the quality of ‘professional’ work is at a higher level than community work. I have to say I saw Hytner’s production of The History Boys at the The National Theatre. I found it to be soulless and indulgent. To an extent it was well-executed but certainly not without its flaws. As a piece of consumerism it surpassed itself and made a huge profit but if that is where its true merit lay then good art needs be linked directly to box office takings and we all know that terrible art often makes huge amounts of money.

A much better, and more highly skilled show, was another National Theatre box office smash - Warhorse. I bought an expensive ticket to see the production and whilst I enjoyed the skill of the theatre-making I was far more impressed with a much more local show. That same week I went into a small theatre studio to see Out of Character’s production of Speaking Ourselves. There were five chairs and five community actors and that was it. They told and performed autobiographical stories of living with mental illness. I cried and laughed more at that humble production than I did at either of the National Theatre’s offerings. Last week I talked about the connection between actor and audience. As a theatre-going experience, Speaking Ourselves, was far more dynamic and powerful than the work by the professionals.

The second assumption is that community theatre-making doesn’t involve professionals. I have worked on both ‘professional’ and ‘community’ shows. In the case of the latter I have often been paid. Hytner seems to want to remove the function of professional theatre-makers from this sphere; hoping that schools would take up this role.

In my home city of York, England, there has been professional involvement in community theatre since 1376. The York Mystery Plays a series of dramatised bible stories have, for centuries, employed a professional performer along side a community cast. This is often an exciting collaboration for both parties and often opens up work that would not otherwise be possible on such a grand scale. I also have to confess that oftentimes the acting from some of the amateurs is better than that of the professionals.

It’s not always the cast that an amateur cast is better and I have seen work recently where the direction or the performances lacked polish and precision. I think this is what Hytner is thinking of when he argues for a separation between professional and community work. He wants the craftspeople to be able to afford to stay in the industry so that their skills are not lost. It’s a legitimate point but it misses the skill and craftsmanship of those professionals who work with, for and alongside communities to make interesting and often deeply transformative work. More on that another time…

We can and should ‘save’ the arts but not by making community and education work a separate and less important endeavour.

Making A Scene: Collaborate

For Writers

Time: 15 minutes - 60 Minutes

Tools: A friend who acts, A timer. Something to write with. Pen, Pencil, Phone, Typewriter

Instructions: Write a one page scene. A two-hander will be quickest. Write one of the roles with a particular actor in mind. Create the role for them. What kind of character can they play well. Get them around and read it with them. Ask them to help you refine it. Writing for particular actors and collaborating directly with them can be a huge joy.

This Week’s Useful Thing

One of my very great mentors, Paul Burbridge, recently passed away. There was a lovely tribute to him in which one of his regular collaborators, Damien Cruden, talked about their partnership. I was due to work as an Assistant Director on one of the finest examples of community theatre making, The York 2012 Mystery plays, but had to bow out as my son was being born. It was a privilege, however, to go as an audience member to see what had been made. Paul made thrilling work with both professionals and community artists and the 2012 Mystery Plays was a shining example of that. This trailer captures what is possible when the professional and the community sphere meet to make work…

Paul’s Plugs

Here are some links to stuff I have made or am making:

Crosswords

Another recent collaboration between professional and community artists is my participatory play for young people - CrossWords. I actually wrote it for the son who was born at the time of the 2012 Mystery plays. It is being produced by Birmingham Rep and a local primary school on the 17th July as part of the Order and Chaos Festival.

If Walls Could Talk

I was commissioned to write some filmed and audio monologues for Fairfax House in York as part of the brilliant If Walls Could Talk exhibition. The mini-dramas explore how Lady Ann Fairfax was demonised for her faith, her gender and her struggles with mental health; much to everyone’s surprise she was far less fragile and far more capable than people imagined. It runs until November.

Farewell

Many friends have been supporting me in a very difficult time. They have been doing this in multiple ways but one of them has been through encouragement. I have kept a note on my phone called ‘Soul-Building’ which is just to write down the nice things people have said about me. Far from being a vanity project it’s actually been one of things that has kept me going. It’s also inspired me to take time out to encourage other people around me. I think its been particularly powerful when I’ve been able to encourage someone I know less well; to listen and look for the ways in which I can make someone else feel better about themselves. Hard recommend.

And as for you, reader, well - you are a just a big bag of awesome x

I hope you too fare well