‘Young artists are facing a crisis’ – how do we keep London creative?
The Golden Globe-winning actor John Boyega. Mercury Prize-winning rapper Little Simz. Academy Award-winner Daniel Kaluuya. Big Boys' acclaimed writer Jack Rooke. Massive names that feel like part of London's cultural firmament, but all of them acknowledge that they might not have made it big – or at all – without access to one of the capital’s free or affordable support programmes for emerging talent.
Growing up, Boyega's family supported his acting ambitions but his talent was spotted aged 10 by Theatre Peckham founder and creative director Theresa Early, who organised a full scholarship so that Boyega could attend. "We did performances at the Roundhouse, my college drama group won a competition to perform at the National Theatre, and all of that made me more passionate about it [acting]," he has said. He is now a patron of the organisation. "It’s so important to have these youth groups, and not cut their funding."
Boyega is spot on. Amid sky-high rental prices, a surge in the cost of living, the ongoing repercussions of Brexit, and increasing shortfalls in funding, London finds itself in the grip of a creative crisis, with artists of all varieties being priced out
