Class and the problem of inequality in theatre

Abstract

Theatre stakes a claim to represent individuals, communities, and nations. Yet both the workforce and the audience are marked by significant inequalities. There are absences of people of colour and those from working-class origins, along with significant gender inequalities in specific roles and specific productions. Awareness of these issues has, in part, been driven by recent research from social science. The techniques from social science that make inequalities visible can be at odds with the preferred modes of understanding inequality favoured by theatre practitioners. This paper is situated at the intersection of social scientific and theatre practice, considering the potential and pitfalls of methods of making inequality visible. In doing so, it frames the discussions that follow in the special issue, as well as suggesting ways that theatre and social science might have productive working partnerships. KEYWORDS Class; inequality; cultural and creative industries Theatre stakes a claim to be an artform that represents and reflects society. British society is currently marked by a range of social divisions that stretch far beyond the cultural sector. As a result, inequalities in the workforce and audience for theatre should not be a surprise. British theatre and the associated performing arts industries are characterised by exclusions by gender, by race, and by class (O'Brien et al. 2016). Class-based exclusions in theatre and performing arts manifest in a variety of ways. They are present in the employment statistics demonstrating the overrepresentation of those from affluent, middle-class, social origins, in key occupations such as acting (Friedman, O'Brien, and Laurison 2017). These same statistics make clear the absence of those from working-class origins. Class exclusions are there in public discourses. Discussion of class, in particular the struggles and exclusions of those from working-class origins, is a persistent feature of media discussions. Some of these discussions involve older, more established workingclass origin theatre practitioners worrying about the chances of people like them making it in the industry today. Others reflect younger working-class origin creatives sharing stories of class-based inequalities and discriminations. These sets of working-class origin discourses are counter-posed by the persistently consistent dismissal of class issues by those, most often men, from middle-class social origins. Even where those at the top of the profession are sympathetic to class inequalities, they struggle to make changes to their institutions (Brook, O'Brien, and Taylor 2020a (in press)).