There is nothing more disempowering than the starving artist trope that’s assigned to most creative professionals who consistently pursue a career in the arts. Perhaps that’s because it resonates too closely with our reality of struggling to maintain the balance between affording to live with the dedication necessary to hone our craft. It hits a nerve, challenges our purpose, and resurfaces our deepest insecurities. What many fail to recognise or honestly state is that it’s not only the battle of affording the weekly food shop, but also that we’re starved of inspiration in a world where real creativity is declining due to over-consumerism and the priority of commercial viability over substance. Treating theatre and entertainment productions like they’re commercial commodities isn’t conducive to nourishing the artistry required to create powerful live experiences. For many artistes, the current industry is very different than the one we chose to carve our path in. There’s no longer room for carving, only moulding into specifications and hitting benchmarks in vocal range, Instagram following, and predetermined physical attributes. Progressive strides have been made in areas such as minority casting, whilst other archaic attitudes have been preserved. As a society we’re becoming more self-aware, yet creative leadership often favours the meek over the bold, lacking introspection when faced with intelligent artistry that challenges their vision or conduct, and disregard performers when they fail to meet unrealistic expectations. That said, if you have some level of celebrity these rules fly out the window, ‘bums on seats’ trumping suitable casting, professionalism, and the ability to perform a role. Nepotism is rife, as it is in most creative businesses, new writing opportunities almost exclusively going to so and so’s son, niece, or grandchild, silencing the voice of the working class – the very people whose experiences reflect the majority of society and who have the most to contribute to creating work that could resonate with a wider audience. Successful and aspiring theatre professionals alike are desperately searching for remnants of the creativity and purpose that used to be at the heart and soul of the UK theatre industry, a community who were once trailblazers in the art of meaningful storytelling.

The tragic thing is the innovation of how audiences consume entertainment and how they respond to it has made this inevitable. The rise of social media has caused humanity to be inundated with overwhelming information that exposes the injustice and corruption of our world. The algorithms remind us of everything we don’t have, pushing us further into the grasp of capitalism. Not to mention the righteous shaming that flood these platforms and has subsequently melted into society, making everyone terrified of being ‘cancelled’ or eagerly searching for their next victim to ‘cancel’. The masses are increasingly allured by celebrity, trends, and materialism, anything that assists them in escaping reality and distracting themselves from what feels like the disconnection and collapse of the human race. Therefore, it’s understandable that theatre leaders have taken all that onboard and decided to heed one of the oldest tricks in the book and ‘play to the crowd’, indulging their need to escape in fanhood and nostalgia in order to keep the theatre industry alive. In recent years, West End and UK theatres have been largely saturated with musical reworkings of 90s and 00s romcoms and Jukebox musicals, pulling in fans of the films, the music, and the stories they already know. They get to go to the theatre for a night of spectacle, unchallenged by new storylines, or any emotional depth. It’s been such a successful strategy that the amount of money theatre tickets are going for really is at odds with the apparent cost of living crisis. Production companies don’t need performers with depth and artistry, they need those with the ability to get the job done, perform the track as written, and with as little fuss as possible. We as artistes have to open our eyes to the reality of the situation and understand that theatre leaders are making decisions they believe will keep our industry thriving in the years to come. I respect that. And playing to the crowd is a sure-fast way of keeping financiers happy and audiences satisfied. I respect that too. But is that what theatre is for?

Stella Adler believed theatre was “the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation” and that it should be “a spiritual and social X-ray of its time”. Arthur Miller considered theatre’s purpose to be “to raise the consciousness of people and their human possibilities” and that it should endeavour to “make man more human, which is to say, less alone.” The father of the modern theatre, Stanislavski regarded the art as a significant and influential tool in educating and enriching humanity and famously said, “unless the theatre can ennoble you, make you a better person, you should flee from it.” What do you think these celebrated theatre practitioners would think about our preoccupation with profit over substance? I think they’d be horrified. Definitely Stella. It’d be multiple hair grabs, exasperated hands and three mic-drops before we’d hear the end of it – and quite rightly so. Because theatre should be a reflection of the true human experience, not the simulation. We should be enlightening audiences to their simulated reality rather than playing along with it. Society is starting to see through the smoke screen, yet theatre is continuously used to distract and placate rather than the be the beacon in the darkness for the wayward, weary, and awake. We celebrate theatre makers like Jonathan Larson who predicted the rise of the current state of the human condition, who even in the 90s was warning of the decline in authentic artistry. Does a tragedy like his need to happen for the industry to take notice? Artists have a responsibility to reach beyond surface-level entertainment and give audiences experiences that will comfort their spirit, push them past their misguided beliefs, and bring them truth in a world obsessed with masking and pretending. That isn’t to say there isn’t a place for productions inspired by pop culture and romcoms. There is without a doubt a great amount of skill and talent that go into these productions, however, it’s become a blueprint that has saturated almost the entire industry leaving little to no room for purposefully enriching work. With less meaningful work being created, it’s no surprise that artistes are struggling to connect with their artistry, feeling lost within the noise, and finding their work less and less fulfilling.

Artists are usually the first to see, our abstract perspectives giving us an awareness that is lacking in more left-brained types, and therefore we carry the majority of the weight in fostering the change needed in humanity’s consciousness. Our artistry feels starved because the art is starved, and it’s becoming increasingly transparent that we cannot rely on current industry leaders to put meaning before profit and acclaim, however justified to keep theatre relevant. So, it’s up to us to reconnect, realign, and restore our craft in the hope that our creativity will eventually be loud enough to reinstate the UK theatre industry back into a position of sovereignty. Despite this bleak analysis of the current situation, all is – in fact – not lost. I am constantly in admiration of the talent I see and that I’ve had the pleasure to work with. There is so much that gives me hope, and that’s what fuels my resolve to keep going, nurturing my own artistry and dedication to it even though at times my efforts feel inconsequential and insignificant. Regardless of success, or how success is defined, I can think of no better way to spend my existence than living life from the lens of an artist pursuing to be of service to humanity in this way – continually persevering to be a part of telling stories that have the potential to inspire real transformation. I’d rather be a starving artist in devotion to the greater good, than stay silent or contribute to the decline of intelligent and sincere work, and the more conversations I have with fellow creatives the less I alone I feel in my perspective.

A resource I regularly turn to on the days I feel disconnected is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, who’s work aspires to help artists reconnect with their creativity. She emphasises that “in order to create, we draw from our inner well… an artistic reservoir. If we don’t give some attention to upkeep, our well is apt to become depleted, stagnant, or blocked. As artists, we must learn to be self-nourishing.” So, to you, artiste, who is desperately searching for a reason to persist, who feels they’ve lost their creativity or their reason to keep going, who struggles to find their place within an industry that feels foreign and elitist, know that you’re not alone and the power to reclaim your artistry resides within you. With each performer, creative, and theatre-maker that decides to embrace their truth and dedicate themselves to the cause of artistic restoration, the more we have the courage to openly recognise the source of our discontent, the more we purposefully strive to nurture our craft and community and dedicate ourselves to the higher purpose of our vocation –  rather than our ego –  the more we hold a collective power for change. You matter. We matter. There is place and purpose for the unique impact your creativity has to offer, and you can re-find what you feel you may have lost.