James Graham: Theatre needs government bail-out to survive impact of coronavirus closures

Adrian Lourie
Zoe Paskett14 April 2020

Quiz playwright James Graham has said the theatre industry won’t survive the coronavirus crisis without an “aggressive government bail-out”.

Graham, whose play-turned-ITV drama explores the coughing scandal on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, said he fears what will be left behind when arts venues are able to reopen.

“I don’t even know if there will be a theatre or film industry that we can recognise when this is all over,” he told news agency PA.

“It’s a collective art form; you need people around you to see it and do it and there is no middle ground now – if it’s going to survive in any form it will need an aggressive government bail-out and you either do or you don’t do it, there is either theatre or there isn’t anymore.

“So there is kind of a clarity to what we need to ask government to do for it to survive and hopefully they will do it.”

Graham said he is particularly concerned that uncertain times ahead could mean a limiting of creativity and the destruction of opportunities for the less privileged.

“I am worried that to have the political argument to justify that level of arts investment again at a time when the economy will be devastated, that’s difficult. I’m worried for what kind of work, what kind of artists, what kind of people, in a more dangerous climate, will be allowed to make the work.

“I think the default naturally goes to safety, rather than invention. I say this as a playwright who comes from a working-class background – working-class actors and artists might be the ones who struggle to find themselves back on those platforms and in those spaces.”

He said he is “already exhausted about the scale of the fight ahead” as every industry and small business is in the same situation.

“The theatres were the first to close and probably, because of the very nature of what they are, gathering people together in close proximity, they will be close to being the last buildings to reopen.

“Having been sat in darkness for several months, all of the reserves will have dried up and there will be no money left.”

He fears that people will be forced to leave the industry, which will risk the arts and entertainment industry losing its international reputation.

“This is one of the last areas where the British still excel all over the world, we are still the ones who win the awards and get to share the work, and that will go without really radical government intervention.”

A spokesman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “We are committed to supporting our theatres during this national emergency with help available through the Government’s unprecedented financial package for business, workers and the self-employed.

“We are in regular contact with the arts and culture sector as we work on our ongoing coronavirus response which includes considering further action that may be necessary.”

Additional reporting by Press Association

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