list.co.uk/festival Diversity | FESTIVAL FEATURES
Is the world of theatre truly progressing in terms of representation or is there a thin line between multiculturalism and tokenism? Arusa Qureshi speaks to four companies at this year’s Fringe exploring themes that affect diverse communities
B ack in 2016, when Paapa Essiedu was cast as Hamlet, making him the i rst black actor to be given the role in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 50-plus-year history, there was an outpouring of positivity about the strides being taken in tackling issues of diversity in British theatre. But despite the changes in the wider theatrical landscape and the increased rhetoric surrounding accessibility, race and class continue to be factors in the exclusion of artists and audiences. As Essiedu himself summarised in an interview with The Guardian, ‘It is all very well to talk about colour-blind casting. But you can’t keep saying that because you cast a black actor as Darcy in Pride and Prejudice you’re making progress – it is tokenism.’
With thousands of acts descending upon Edinburgh each year from countries all over the world, the Fringe is a haven for exciting and innovative productions. But even at the world’s
biggest arts festival, where audiences seek out unique stories and companies boast of their focus on lesser-known perspectives, there is a danger of falling into tokenistic practices.
Touring theatre company LUNG’s Trojan Horse explores the story of a community torn apart by racial division and the culture of Prevent, the government strategy aimed at countering extremism. It uses real-life testimonies from those at the heart of the 2014 government inquiry into the suspected Islamisation of state schools in Birmingham. ‘There has been some noticeable shifts in the stories we’re seeing on stage,’ creative director Helen Monks explains, ‘but the audience coming to see those stories is still very white, very middle class and very middle-aged. Theatre needs to not just be about educating well-meaning white people on the stories of “others” but actually rel ecting people’s lives back to them.’ >>
1–8 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 33