Due to the current coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, UK Theatre and SOLT are having to prioritise our resources into focussing on ways in which we can immediately support our members and the wider theatre sector as we enter a period of huge disruption and change. Consequently, many of the projects that we have been fully committed to are having to be put on hold for now. Stage Sight is one of these projects. The coming weeks and months will be particularly challenging for the UK theatre sector, as many organisations and individuals have to take radical steps to survive. We would like to thank Prema Mehta, Stage Sight founder, for all her hard work on this project, and all the UK theatre and SOLT members who have supported it.
Statement from Prema Mehta, Stage Sight Founder:
We say Stage Sight launched a year ago. The reality is it started from my own journey over fifteen years ago. From the eyes of a young woman and her every observation, and from years of overcoming barriers, the most dangerous barriers of all – the invisible kind, as I worked to build a career to break into an industry which didn’t have anyone who looked like me.
I am so incredibly proud of our Stage Sight members (both organisations and individuals) who made a commitment to change our industry to reflect our society in terms of class, ethnicity and disability. On a personal level, your support stopped me feeling alone in this fight.
My thanks to our hardworking Stage Sight Committee who invested their experience, expertise and time into building Stage Sight, and who have spent over the last four months working to secure a future where Stage Sight’s work could continue.
Thank you to UK Theatre and SOLT for all of their support. They, like many of us, are now in a position where they need to reprioritise areas of their work, and need to serve the industry over the coming months to ensure we survive the current situation. As a result of this, we have limited resource to continue with Stage Sight at the present time.
As a freelancer, I don’t know what lies ahead in the coming months for all of us in terms of sustaining a future within the industry. I can only hope that we all survive this period to continue working in an industry we love. Regardless of where my next steps take me, the greatest pledge you could make to Stage Sight is to embed its values into every part of your work when you rebuild.
Stage Sight’s vision is to create an off stage workforce that is more reflective of our society today, inclusive of ethnicity, class and disability.
Make a commitment to change
“It takes a whole team to put on a show – from the front of house staff, to designers, lighting engineers and actors – which is why it is so important that our theatres have a workforce that represents the diversity of our city. These exciting and life-changing career opportunities must be open to people from all backgrounds.
I want to congratulate Stage Sight in driving forward diversity and representation in the theatre workforce in London and across the country – and I urge the creative sector as a whole to follow their example and increase access to these rewarding careers.”
Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor for Culture
and the Creative Industries
