Today, the HM Courts & Tribunals Service announced plans for an extra 8 Nightingale Courts to tackle the impact of the dreaded ‘c word’ on the justice system. As far as I’m aware, they’ve named just three of these new locations that will host criminal, civil, family and tribunal hearings: Middlesbrough’s Jury’s Inn, a Hilton hotel in York and The Lowry Theatre in Salford. The last one threw me.
Before I say anything else, I want to caveat all of this that I think the fact this is happening at all demonstrates what strain both the arts and the justice system is being placed under- people are scrambling to survive right now.
The Lowry, like many arts venues, saw the majority of its income disappear overnight when it shut in March at a time in which an appalling lack of government guidance meant that the likes of theatres, galleries, music venues and comedy clubs were all scrambling to adapt to ‘unprecedented’ events.
The Lowry has now lost "£16m of income" and it says that it will host trials in three temporary courtrooms during the daytimes from Monday to Fridays. In the evenings and weekends, the venue will stage shows and open its galleries again, using funds from the court deal. This means that performances that will not have been taking place otherwise can now begin. It means jobs, protection and the lights can be kept on.
The Lowry have said, “…This partnership provides vital funds to enable us to relaunch our programme… Furthermore, we hope to spread the benefit of this partnership across Greater Manchester by commissioning new work from local artists specifically designed for the post-COVID audience environment.”
Having said that, an arts venue propping up a ministry of justice which displays all of the inherent traits of a classist, racist, ableist and chaotic Tory government can’t help but churn my stomach. Yes, it’s a court, not a prison, and the Lowry are no doubt alleviating a backlog of cases (some of which will provide comfort to families and victims). Yes, this a valued arts organisation trying to do their best in a frankly diabolical situation. Yes, safeguarding hundreds of jobs at a time like this is a welcome relief. Yes, some young people and audiences will undoubtedly benefit from having access to the arts again in Salford at a time like this.
Still, it sends a message. Undoubtedly, there will be audiences that will feel like a venue is now ‘not for them.’ There may be some that argue that arts organisations shouldn’t hold themselves up as bastions of left-wing values and shouldn’t sit outside of society’s normal structures.
But this isn’t the same thing. What we need is for the government to fund the court system and CPS, fund services for vulnerable young people and radically reform policing. Oh, and support the entertainment industries instead of letting them all disintegrate before our very eyes. I thought Nightingale Courts set up in our theatres would be the stuff of dystopian novels, but 2020 and the Tories strike again.
Don’t get me wrong, the theatre industry in the UK has a long way to go before it is able to claim to be a safe space for everyone, whatever your background, but make no mistake- theatres are places that should be embedded in their communities, championing them, and fostering audiences that feel like they belong when they walk into your foyer.
I am sure The Lowry had no choice. I am sure that the complexities of this run deep and wide and I am very sure I’m just a gobshite playwright, but if we don’t stop and question these things as they happen, then pretty soon everything we love about the arts could be up for grabs. It can’t just be one more thing that gets destroyed during this crumbling, capitalist horror show.
There’s just no escaping the fact that, for some people, walking past an arts venue will now be associated with events that will remind them of the very worst times in their life, when they should be a place of escape.
The sad thing here is that, for some, The Lowry still will be, but maybe now not for everyone.
Love to all,
Ben x
Why Theatres Becoming Courts is a Bad Idea