Zac Cash's Hitchin opinion: The arts are under attack - why we must preserve them | Opinion | News | Hitchin Nub News

Hitchin Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We highlight many of these businesses, organisations and individuals regularly in a feature called 'Up Close in Hitchin' as well as fascinating opinion pieces from our trusted cohort of Nub News contributors.

For today's opinion piece here's Zac Cash who says: The arts are under attack - why we must preserve the definitive hallmark of the UK

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For the best part of 18 years, my life has been rooted in the arts.

My mother has worked in London's West End for fifteen years, most recently as deputy stage manager for the musical production of Only Fools and Horses.

But before I was born, she worked on musicals such as Mamma Mia, Oliver, Grease and We Will Rock You, which meant that she was able to get a whole host of connections and contacts within the world of theatre.

As a result, the most memorable and defining moments of my childhood were spent at the theatre.

We would go into London in the late afternoon, go out for dinner and then go to the theatre (and maybe even be able to get a quick backstage tour if we were lucky!).

I recognise now that I was so privileged to have been able to do that so frequently and I truly believe that being exposed to something that exuberates so much confidence and intense vulnerability really helped me become a sociable and outgoing person myself.

However, coronavirus, directly and indirectly, has threatened to jeopardise both the theatre industry and the arts in general.

Let me first state that since he became chancellor in February of this year, I have been extremely impressed with Rishi Sunak.

I think that he is fair, down to earth and genuinely cares about helping everybody, not just the exclusive 'few'.

However, his comments that were allegedly made to ITV news on Tuesday were simply wrong.

The arts are not an illustrious hobby which can be put on the backburner when needed. They are the lifeblood of the country and something which has put a geographically tiny nation 'on the map'.

Take the music industry, for example.

Perhaps the most famous artists and bands in the history of music have come from the UK - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Oasis and David Bowie, to name but a few.

Or if we return to theatre, the only thing that could be regarded as an equal to London's West End would be New York's Broadway.

This is why Sunak's comments about how those in the arts should "simply retrain" just cannot be regarded as plausible.

Of course, it is not as simple as that in the first place, but if it were to happen, then we would be losing a huge chunk of both our culture and British iconography.

While I understand that ITV have now corrected the chancellor's comments to reflect that Sunak was talking about employment as a whole, rather than just specifically the arts and entertainment industry, this does not diminish the fact that people cannot be expected to just find new opportunities and "be open to adaptation".

One particular example of this is something very personal to me.

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that my mother works on the musical of Only Fools and Horses.

However, due to coronavirus, the show has had to be put on hold for an indefinite amount of time.

As a result, she has had to adapt to the situation and find other work, at the moment, she works for a Letchworth-based elderly care company.

We are one of the lucky ones. As my father is a key worker, we have been able to maintain a steady income and thus keep our family afloat.

However, we have lost a sizable amount of our income due to my mother not earning the same amount as she previously did.

Therefore, it is clear that these governmental expectations are not practical or realistic, as these other opportunities are not a long-term solution to the fluctuation of familial income levels caused by the pandemic.

The arts sector must be supported, maintained and resurrected to its former glory.

Otherwise, we risk destroying the livelihoods of countless individuals, as well as a key symbol of British culture.

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