Young face losing out on arts as crisis is ignored, says star
YOUNG PEOPLE are in danger of being driven out of the arts because the Government is ignoring the crisis facing the industry, actress Michelle Collins has warned.
The former EastEnders star, who played Cindy Beale, has brought together performers including Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, Lesley Manville and Miriam Margolyes to perform short monologues from home to raise money for the Equity Benevolent Fund.
The fund will offer support for performers who cannot afford to pay for food, utilities or other essentials during the coronavirus crisis.
Collins, who had been rehearsing for a tour of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party before lockdown, said yesterday: “I think people always think actors will be fine, they are just actors, they are all loaded, they have all got loads of money and do you know what? They haven’t.
“Even actors on TV probably don’t earn as much as people really think they do.
“Gone are those days where actors earned fortunes and particularly in fringe theatre in London it’s great to do but you can’t survive on it.”
Collins said many jobbing actors who had to supplement their income with work in the hospitality industry had been particularly hard hit with the closure of pubs and restaurants.
She said: “The younger ones who aren’t from privileged backgrounds, who don’t have rich parents who can supplement them, what are they going to do?
“They are probably going to become really disillusioned and leave the industry and we need to show them that we do really care about them and I just felt so passionate.
“People are desperate and it’s very hard for self-employed people, particularly actors, to get Universal Credit.
“The Government are not supporting. They seem to be ignoring our industry, I think. We feel we’ve been forgotten.”
Collins said it would also be tough for older actors, warning: “They are going to suffer because they are not going to be using over 70s. They can’t work because they are vulnerable. I appreciate it’s tough for everybody, everybody is suffering, but this is what I do, this is my industry.”
Equity, which represents more than 47,000 performers and creative practitioners, has committed to boosting its benevolent fund to £1m and is currently giving out up to £86,000 per week in aid.
People always think actors have got loads of money. They haven’t.
Michelle Collins, actress and former Eastenders star.