White Like Me

British theatre is an overwhelmingly white experience. “The facts are scandalous. Of 2,009 permanent staff in regional theatres, only 80 are from black and Asian communities; of 463 board members, only 20 are from what we term “ethnic minorities”. And Leicester Haymarket is the only producing theatre with a black artistic director, Kully Thiarai.” The Arts Council is working on some initiatives to help, but “the key question is whether these initiatives are enough to combat the racism – more, I suspect, a result of indifference than malice – that has become an entrenched part of British theatre.”