Arts venues urge PM to act over post-Brexit touring crisis
Published
image captionThe boss of Shakespeare s Globe theatre is among the letter s 300 signatories
The Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House and Ed Sheeran s manager have signed a letter urging Boris Johnson to avert a crisis which is threatening our industry since Brexit.
More than 300 arts figures warned the prime minister of a mountain of costly bureaucracy and red tape for EU tours.
Their letter said the government had a limited window before work will be lost and businesses will go under .
The government said it was working flat out to help touring artists.
kmfm More than 300 creative organisations have signed a letter to demand that Boris Johnson delivers on his promise to fix the Brexit crisis for their industry.
Organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the British Fashion Council and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society have warned the prime minister that work will be lost and businesses will go under if nothing is done to support the creative industries in the aftermath of
Brexit.
It comes after hundreds of prominent musicians called on the government back in January to resolve the free movement issue to
allow them to tour in Europe again.
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Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly has garnered some of Britain’s highest honours for her work. But such recognition is in stark contrast to the treatment experienced by musicians post-Brexit, she says.
Connolly called the government’s failure to prioritise an agreement allowing musicians visa-free travel to Europe, after Britain finally quit all EU structures at the end of 2020, “absolutely outrageous”.
“I feel that we have the right to be angry,” she told AFP, emphasising the importance of early exposure to continental experience for British musicians to reach the highest levels.
Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly. Photo: operabase.com
Connolly, 57, who was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for her services to music, has sung at the world’s most prestigious opera venues.