As the founder of an organisation that also struggles to find funding I was interested to read in the Evening Standard this week director Polly Teale's article HERE about the uncertain future of her theatre company, Shared Experience, and why the gender bias in the arts is now more important than ever.
This was on the day that David Cameron announced that he wants to appoint a female special advisor to ‘cast an eye over Government initiatives’ and to ensure policies are ‘women friendly’. It’s no wonder that we struggle!
I assume that the government wants a woman to check over policies so that they will win women’s votes in the next election, yet they only have one notable woman cabinet minister! It seems that the struggle that some of us have been grappling with for most of our professional lives is starting all over again. I’d hoped that our generation had it sorted for the next lot of women – it’s not an ‘advisor' the government needs to represent 50% of our population, they need more women actually on the job.
Meanwhile, back in the arts world, companies like Shared Experience, which focus on putting women's stories centre stage and giving us a voice, can’t get access to funding. Why can’t our government put their money where their female mouthpiece could be? Supporting the arts is a potential vote winner, not another advisor on an inflated salary.
Polly Teale has to fight for every penny to make sure that she can continue making her point theatrically. Shared Experience is currently touring a brilliant new play based on the true story of black identical twin sisters who refused to talk, their only relationship being an intense and turbulent bond with each other. Speechless has had excellent reviews and won awards, and yet it is to be the last show funded through Shared Experience's Regular Funding Agreement with Arts Council England.
Polly is concerned about what the funding cut will mean for the future of her company at a time when it's more important than ever for women's voices to be heard.
In the Standard article she refers to a blog about how gender inequality was still prevalent in the theatre illustrated by a photograph of Legally Blonde, the show which happens to be the biggest employer of women in British theatre. The high point of the show is a song about how, if you bend over in a skimpy outfit and wiggle your bottom, you can get a man to do virtually anything… oh, the power. Maybe that’s how we women can catch Mr Cameron’s eye?
The serious side of this is that we’re putting out the wrong messages here and, given that culture reflects society and the media would have us believe that Katy Price and Cheryl Cole are the only role models for young women, it’s unlikely that any ‘advisor’ is going to make a difference unless she’s had a boob job and wears killer heels.
So, where am I going with this? Firstly read about Polly Teale and the fantastic work she does with Shared Experience HERE, and encourage the establishment to support women in the arts generally. Funny Women showcases great female comedy regularly in London and Brighton and we don’t have funding either. I carry on with it all because humour helps to pack a punch when it’s needed and we can make women’s voices heard without the Botox and hot pants, regardless of age, ability and sexuality.
Finally we can all lobby our prime minister to come and see what we’re all up to in the theatre and comedy stages of this fair land – maybe then he’ll see how easy it is to change perceptions and maybe win a few votes along the way…
Speechless is at the Arcola Theatre, E8 until Saturday 19th November. You can book HERE.
Lynne Parker
