Diversity initiatives for UK theatres - improving representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities within the British performing arts sector

Background 

In response to the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement returning to prominence, it is imperative that SOLT and UK Theatre, as well as the wider sector, resets itself by removing systemic racism, and creating clear, actionable inclusion and anti-racism policies.

The many research projects and reports published over the last few years clearly demonstrate that there are barriers to entry to the industry, and that retention, career progression and pay parity are also significant issues for workers who are Black, from an ethnic minority, or D/deaf and disabled.

Each one of us is responsible for making changes - every organisation, every member, and every individual working in the sector. This work cannot be done on behalf of the sector by SOLT/UK Theatre, although as the sector trade body we can stimulate debate, provoke actions, challenge, highlight best practice and lead. The Inclusion & Anti-Racism Working Group must champion this stance.

The first meeting of this Working Group was held on 23 July 2020.

Download the Inclusion & Anti-Racism Working Group's Terms of Reference here.

• Creative Access - helping under-represented communities enter the creative industries and thrive when they get in.           
• Get Into Theatre* - careers advice website for young people

• Inspiring Future Theatre Day*: an annual celebration of the work theatres across the UK do to inspire young people, communities and schools

• Theatrecraft*: the UK’s largest free careers event for anyone aged 16-30 seeking off-stage roles in theatre

• Centre Stage: report commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation highlighting inequalities in the sector, and making recommendations for improving the situation
• Creative Mentor Network: Break The Wall: trains industry professionals in small businesses in coaching and creating an inclusive culture
• Creative Access: helping under-represented communities to not just enter the creative industries, but to thrive when they get in         
• Employment Statutory Code of Practice (Equality Act 2010)       
• Freedom of Expression Report 2020: This ArtsProfessional survey gathered evidence about the pressures to self censor that artists and arts professionals experience in their working lives, and the ways in which they feel their freedom of expression is curtailed.            
• Green Park: specialist recruitment consultants recruiting diverse and inclusive workforces
• Parents and Carers in Performing Arts*: Best Practice Charter Programme: tools and resources to help you work towards attracting and retaining a more diverse and flexible workforce
• Race in the Workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review: a review of issues faced by businesses in developing Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) talent in the workplace
• Recruitment and Workforce Development Toolkit: this Arts Council toolkit provides best practice downloadable resources, templates and guidance, such as: advertising a job and job descriptions, reasonable adjustments and Access to Work, managing employee and workplace stress, conducting board skills audits and more        
• Socio-Economic Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts: A Toolkit for Employers       
• Stage One: Bridge the Gap*: addressing under-representation for those pursuing a career in commercial theatre producing
• Stage Sight*: Initiatives from Stage Sight members who have committed to rebalancing our off-stage workforce

• Get the Best from your Team (The Business of Inclusion) with Paul Anderson-Walsh and Deborah Sawyerr
• Managing Change with Tonic Theatre
• Dignity at Work with Challenge Consultancy

• Artistic Directors of the Future: creating change at leadership level in the creative industries
• Breakthrough: Building Inclusive Organisations: helps leaders and senior management teams understand and overcome barriers to move their organisation on, shift mindsets and enable cultural transformation and growth.
• Brilliant Routes: Clore Leadership Programme: a strand of programming focused on progression routes for BAME/POC leaders.  This forms a key part of Clore's Inclusive Leadership delivery for Arts Council England’s Transforming Leadership programme, which prioritises activities to address existing gaps in diversity in the leadership of culture        
• Common Purpose: Streetwise MBA: a programme for leaders who want to be more inclusive   
• Sour Lemons: Making Lemonade – leadership programme for 18-25 year olds 

• Asian Culture Vulture: an online arts and culture magazine, founded to highlight and showcase creative work by South Asians living in the West or examine work that is relevant to them
• British Asian Theatre Project: a 4 year research project by University of Exeter and AHRC documenting the presence of South Asians on the British stage from 1790s to the 2000s: http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/drama/research/projects/britishasian/
• British South Asian Theatre Memories Oral History Project: exploring the history of British South Asian Theatre since the 1970s
• Kali: presenting new theatre by female writers of South Asian descent
• Rifco Theatre Company: develops, produces and tours new plays and musicals that reflect and celebrate British Asian contemporary experiences
• South Asian Theatre in Britain: a short essay covering the early 1900s to the 1990s: 
• Tara Arts: multiultural theatre in London, home to a world of stories, from the classic to the ne

   
• 20 Stories High: making theatre with working class and culturally diverse young people, emerging artists and world class professionals   
• Arcola Theatre: creating trailblazing theatre for all   
• Battersea Arts Centre: the world’s first Relaxed Venue, with access and inclusivity embedded across all its activities
• Belgrade Theatre Coventry: together with the diverse communities across Coventry and the region, enriching and changing people’s lives for the better through theatre
• Beyond Face: a performance company based in Plymouth whose mission is to raise the profile and visibility of People of Colour in the Arts
• Beyond the Canon: an initiative, led by Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway, championing ground breaking, yet forgotten and hidden plays by culturally diverse writers
• Bush Theatre: discovering, nurturing and producing the best new playwrights from the widest range of backgrounds
• Everything Matters: an investigative research project produced by Tangle in 2012 and still having an impact several years on. Taking place across South West England, the study captured opinions about African Caribbean theatre, volunteered by 20 theatres and arts organisations across the UK’s largest and most rurally dispersed region, and one of its most mono-cultural areas.
• Hackney Empire: a variety theatre for the 21st century that embraces a local and global community of artists and audiences

• LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre): bringing international theatre all over London every two years.

  LIFT stands for radical empowerment and inclusion, and promotes international perspectives, understanding that difference makes us stronger

• Parents and Carers in Performing Arts: research investigating the impact of caring responsibilities on those working on-stage and off-stage
  

• Photo library featuring people of colour in off-stage roles
  
• Selina Thompson: an interdisciplinary performance company based in Birmingham    
• Stage Sight: case studies* from arts organisations working on improving off-stage representation
• Stage Sight: useful guides and documents* to help you demonstrate best practice for achieving a more representative off-stage workforce
• Tiata Fahodzi: a theatre company for Britain today and the Britain of tomorrow
• Young Vic Theatre: presenting high quality work at low prices for some of the most diverse and engaged audiences in London

• Black British Theatre Awards
• UK Theatre Awards*: Excellence in Inclusivity Award (initiated 2019) 

• Akram Khan Company: embracing an artistic vision that both respects and challenges Indian kathak form and contemporary dance    
• Ballet Black: aims to bring ballet to a more culturally diverse audience by celebrating Black and Asian dancers in ballet       
• Boy Blue: the UK’s most prominent street dance and hip hop performance company
• Breakin’ Convention: international festival of hiphop dance theatre  
• Phoenix Dance Theatre: creating dynamic, diverse and relevant work that embodies the Company’s rich Caribbean history and shines a light on cultural narratives which are often overlooked or untold    
• Shobana Jeyasingh Dance: founded by Shobana Jeyasingh, whose work is noted for both its intellectual rigour and its visceral physicality
• Tavaziva: renowned for its beautiful and dynamic hybridization of contemporary, ballet and African dance, Tavaziva was established in 2004 and is led by Zimbabwean-born Bawren Tavaziva
  
• ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company: ground-breaking storytellers creating original music and dance to inspire the next generation of theatregoers and theatre makers

• Act for Change: campaigning for better representation across the live and recorded arts
• Theatre Casting Toolkit*: a practical tool for making meaningful change on our stages

• Audience Diversity Academy: helps you and your organisation build long-term relationships with new audiences
• The Audience Friend: connecting people who rarely go to arts events, or people on low incomes, from BAME backgrounds, with disabilities, and key workers    
• Black Ticket Project: an initiative creating cultural access points for Black young people across England.
• East Asian Ticket Club: an engagement scheme to encourage and increase East Asian participation across the arts in the UK
  
• Mousetrap Theatre Projects*: running a wide range of theatregoing programmes and educationprojects for young people, families, state schools and youth groups

• Creative Mentor Network: a tailored consultancy and programme design for businesses who want to strengthen diversity and inclusion in their organisation
• Green Park: specialist recruitment consultants recruiting diverse and inclusive workforces 
• Inc Arts: addressing how best to build diverse agency and growth within the sector        
• Sour Lemons: consultancy services: creating inclusive environments so diverse talent can thrive    
• Tonic Theatre: supporting the arts to achieve greater gender equality and diversity