Wave of protest plays staged as UK theatres face closures and staff shortages

‘What galvanises maine to get up successful nan greeting and constitute is what is making maine angry, upsetting me, frightening me,” says playwright Emily White. Like her erstwhile plays, White’s adjacent production, Joseph K and nan Cost of Living, opening astatine Swansea Grand adjacent month, seeks to make nan governmental personal. It is simply a reimagining of Kafka’s nightmarish The Trial, whose protagonist is unexpectedly arrested but not told what for and ever maintains his innocence.

White was a teen erstwhile she first publication nan novel, astir “being trapped successful this benignant of bureaucratic machine”, but she returned to it much precocious aft emotion that location was a “creeping authoritarianism” happening, pinch marginalised people’s authorities “being clawed backmost by governments each complete nan world”. She continues: “In my version, it’s a communicative astir state-led persecution of peculiar individuals and nan reasons for that. And, successful nan background, we are very overmuch coming successful Britain, successful this world that we’re surviving successful correct now.” The play is set, she says, successful a state that feels arsenic if it is teetering connected nan brink of guidance and revolution. As such, nan communicative incorporates nutrient banks, homelessness, biology protests, strikes and nan government’s effort to limit direct action.

Still, White says she wants to make judge her plays are nosy too, and hopes this 1 will animate those who watch it. “A theatre accumulation can’t alteration nan world, but I deliberation it tin make group deliberation astir thing successful a different measurement … When bankers get £500,000 bonuses, while nurses person to usage nutrient banks to provender their families, thing is very wrong.”

The theatre manufacture is facing nan effect of a bleak economical reality too, pinch nan costs of surviving situation and nan hangover from nan pandemic. Last month, Oldham Coliseum announced nan cancellation of each its performances from precocious March, owing to its Arts Council England (ACE) backing having been wholly cut. Stiflingly debased wages person prompted nan waste and acquisition national Equity to motorboat a campaign calling for a 17% play salary emergence for performers and shape guidance moving successful nan West End.

On nan taxable of wages … Sound of nan Underground astatine London’s Royal Court. Photograph: Helen Murray

“People are leaving nan industry, to beryllium wholly honest,” says White. “There is simply a monolithic exodus of group that don’t travel from able backgrounds and truthful can’t support doing it. Which is really, really sad.” She fears for nan knock-on effect of backing cuts connected nan type of activity that is staged. “Theatre is successful threat of conscionable being a depository portion – not existent and not tackling nan things that are going connected correct now astir nan world, and that’s really important successful bid to not go obsolete.”

White’s play, staged arsenic portion of a three-part project by National Theatre Wales, is among a activity of useful exploring nan harsh impacts of nan costs of surviving crisis. These see Travis Alabanza and Debbie Hannan’s Sound of nan Underground, astatine London’s Royal Court, which considers nan precarious wages for resistance performers, and Northern Stage’s adjustment of nan movie I, Daniel Blake, opening successful May.

At Colchester’s Mercury theatre from March is They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!, Deborah McAndrew’s adjustment of a 1974 Italian farce by Dario Fo and Franca Rame. The original depicted nan looting of a supermarket successful protestation astatine economical crisis. What tin we expect from McAndrew’s version? “A benignant of scattergun, authorities of nan federation moment,” she says, envisioning an “anarchic evening pinch hopefully 1 aliases 2 moments of reflection and genuine rage”. In nan operation for nan last book are gags astir Matt Hancock and a imaginable spot connected Nadhim Zahawi’s taxation affairs. “It conscionable gets much and much surreal,” adds McAndrew. “It’s each a large meta joke. There’s tons of 4th wall breaking.” It will beryllium hard-hitting, too, including an exploration of constabulary corruption.

Artwork for The Cost of Living, National Theatre Wales’ eager caller three-part accumulation astatine Swansea Grand. Photograph: National Theatre Wales

McAndrew’s ain theatre company, Claybody, successful Stoke-on-Trent, was among those to person an uplift successful ACE funding, but she is alert of nan bigger picture. She hears from friends moving successful nan West End that “there are large problems location conscionable because group can’t spend to go”, and cites nan pandemic arsenic a facet down staffing shortages backstage. “There’s a peculiar situation successful shape management. They activity really difficult hours … I deliberation nan pandemic did impact group and made [them] rethink their lives.”

But she remains optimistic astir amended days to come. “As a theatre person, I judge location is thing rather for illustration a shared acquisition successful a room pinch actors correct successful beforehand of you doing that thing, and performing that communicative for you, arsenic an assemblage – nan unsocial move of each show,” she says. “I don’t judge that will ever spell away, and that group will not want it.”