This story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.net/en/.
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‘That’s me done’: How the UK government abandoned artists to COVID-19
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Date: None

“It was the culmination of years of work,” says Kareem Samara, as he reflects on how things were supposed to turn out.

The composer and musician finally felt like he’d arrived. The year 2020 was going to start with a production at the National Theatre, followed by a move to Stratford and then back to London for a stint at Shakespeare’s Globe. There were gigs, tours and recording sessions lined up, too.

A week into rehearsals for ‘Welcome to Iran’, a National Theatre co-production, Samara and his fellow cast and crew gathered together to watch prime minister Boris Johnson announce that the country was going into lockdown. The theatres were closing. Samara packed his bags and went home. He hasn’t been in a theatre or played a live show since.

Newly registered as self-employed, Samara, a British Palestinian from south-west London, was not entitled to the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Not the permanent employee of any company, he was unable to benefit from the furlough scheme. He picked up some manual work. A few of his old guitar pupils were able to keep their lessons going online. He scraped by.

Samara is far from alone – and for many, the situation has been worse. Self-employed musicians, actors and artists have told openJustice that the COVID-19 pandemic – and the government’s failure to provide them with any help – has left them struggling to cope, both financially and emotionally.

“Most people are playing the waiting game,” said Samara. “Going on Universal Credit, maxing out credit cards and loans, moving to cheaper places, leaving the country. But I’ve seen a couple of performers say, ‘OK, that’s me done’.”

There is a strong feeling that the pandemic has confirmed what many in the industry already suspected: that Britain right now is a place where those who hold power either don’t care about the arts or are actively contemptuous of them. This feeling has been deepened by the government’s response to Brexit, with musicians and crew saying the failure to negotiate visa-free touring to the EU will end up hitting the industry harder than COVID-19.

“In the years to come I believe our government will be put into the stocks for the mess they’ve created, the blatant lack of compassion towards our arts and the international viability of those arts,” Charles Cave, from the indie band White Lies, told openJustice.

[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/openjustice/thats-me-done-how-the-uk-government-abandoned-artists-to-covid-19/