The pragmatic consequences of Covid-19 have not left any sector untouched. Asian Voice has been trying to bring you stories from artists and organisations in the art sector for a few weeks now. In this edition, we spoke to Helena Bell, Artistic Director, Kali Theatre Company who spoke about the immediate challenges of this pandemic for the arts community and more talking points.
Bell said, “For Kali it’s down to the complete closure of the theatre ecology in that all the while our partnering touring venues are closed we are unable to share our work so although we’ve actually continued to commission and develop and showcase our writers (and actors) through Lockdown (largely via our popular SOLOS distributed online) all our live theatre work has had to be postponed. This is the case for us all. And rehearsing a play with social distancing puts big limitations on the kind of work any of us can make. So the immediate impact is economic, especially Impactful and challenging for freelance creatives and production teams who are the majority workforce of the theatre industry.”
Talking about how the calendar looks like for Kali Theatre Company in the next six months and how the daily functioning will change with the new normal, she said, “We’re working on a new book launching next year to celebrate Kali’s 30th Birthday alongside completing the development of scripts for our HOME Plays London Festival next May and our touring show (Love and Lineage) for next Autumn. We also have another set of SOLOS commissioned to go out this Autumn by four hugely exciting and established playwrights. The entire team is still working from home and we expect this to continue until we can safely get back to rehearsal rooms.”
Asked about how hopeful she was about reaping the benefits of the £1.57bn arts grant announced by the government, she said, “We will reap some benefits if and when our partners do.” The Belgrade Theatre decided to drop the BAME, BAMER, and Person of Colour titles. We also asked if she agreed that attaching titles to the artists strips them of their individuality. She agreed.
Sharing her opinion over any latent issues that she felt must be addressed by the government or need to be written about in the press to help the arts community in the Covid-19 world, she said, “We must not lose ground in developing and presenting our richly diverse stories for UK theatre audiences. We need to keep moving forwards on this. It’s vital for the sector and for society at large that the voices of South Asian women don’t now get lost in this new Covid-19 World.”
