Brexit Threatens Performances of Shakespeare in EU: Starmer’s Warning
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to intervene as a leading theatre company has warned that even performances of Shakespeare in the EU are at risk in the wake of Brexit. White Horse Theatre, Europe’s largest educational touring theatre, has provided English-language performances to schools and theatres across Europe for nearly half a century – but rising costs, logistical challenges, and the long-term instability caused by Brexit now threaten its future.
At its peak, the company employed 32 professional actors and performed for half a million students annually. Since Brexit, this number has declined to fewer than 300,000 students per year, and the company has been reduced to 24 performers. It may be cut in its entirety if the government doesn’t do more to tackle Brexit red tape for theatres, the theatre company insisted.
Urgent Solutions Needed
Peter Griffith, the founder of White Horse Theatre, told The Independent “urgent solutions are needed to ensure the survival of initiatives like ours that enrich so many lives”. He explained that Brexit has made it “increasingly difficult to bring British actors to European schools, reducing student audiences, and forcing significant price increases”.
Impact on the Arts Sector
Brexit has introduced numerous bureaucratic hurdles, from obtaining work permits to navigating immigration processes, which have increased the cost of hiring and operating, Mr Griffith said. To cover these higher costs, the company has had to raise prices significantly—a trend that may continue. However, higher prices result in fewer bookings, which in turn spreads fixed costs over a smaller customer base.
Industry Reactions
Former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine told The Independent that this case is “another example of the creeping death that Brexit has injected into our economy”. In 2021, the National Theatre announced it was postponing European tours of its internationally acclaimed productions, and actors union Equity released figures showing a third of its members reported seeing casting adverts requiring EU passports.
A letter signed by union members including Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart published in the same year warned that Brexit poses a greater challenge to the industry than the coronavirus pandemic, calling for new visa terms for artists. “For a sector that is deeply embedded in the international community – from touring theatre and dance to film, television, and commercials – which must work fast, flexibly and to demand, this is a disastrous blow and will hit those already struggling and marginalized groups the hardest”, the letter said. The Cabinet Office has been contacted for comment.
