My response to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports’ call for evidence

The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports is asking for evidence about the effect of the pandemic on the arts industry.  Here’s what I said:

I am a travelling Show who has worked for over fifty years in the open air events sector. My show is a family Vintage Variety Show involving magic, music, juggling,  unicycling, illusion and high balance.  Last year I was joined by a live keyboard accompanist, a former marine bandsman with forty years live performance experience.  Before the pandemic the show was booked every weekend at galas, festivals and events between the beginning of May and the end of October.  2020 was to have been my busiest year to date, with many new bookings as well as those I visited every year, some for as many as thirty years without a break.

The effect of the pandemic has been disastrous.  Every booking has been cancelled.  I have one or two bookers have said they will book me again in 2021 but this will depend on what restrictions will be in place then. 

I am a member of Equity and the Outdoor Arts UK associations and I have received some emergency funding through these organisations. I also received a grant from the Grand Order of Water Rats. In the short term their grants and generosity have been able to help me financially but the medium and long term is by no means as optimistic. If I am to carry on as a professional (and I am now too old to learn another skill), then the open air event industry must be supported to survive.

Open air events must change to reflect the changes in acceptable and legal social interaction.  Admission must be monitored. Audiences must be separated into distanced groups.  Toilet facilities must provide safe use. There must be stations to allow for hand washing and sanitisation.  Graphic reminders of social distancing rules must be obvious and security must be in place to support this.  Queuing must be monitored.  The use of technology must be accelerated to aid all these measures.

But open air events must continue and can only do so if they are supported by government.  They represent a cultural dimension of human activity which dates back millennia through fetes and galas to parades and touring troubadours, mystery plays and way beyond back to the lone travelling storyteller and shaman.  We open air performers carry this tradition forward today in everything we do, everything we work for.  The cohesion of community and social life is furthered through our work.  It is not just entertainment.   It is a vital celebration of community and social life, traditional and essential.  It must change and adapt certainly, as it always has to war, disaster and the like, but it must be supported by central and local government intervention to allow it to continue.  Without that financial and fiscal support, this rich. life-affirming, colourful tradition cannot survive.

All the best from a road near you,

Mr Alexander