SOME of the biggest names in Scottish comedy have urged the government to act now or risk clubs, venues, and performers being "lost forever”.
Frankie Boyle, Kevin Bridges, Jo Caulfield, Janey Godley, Larry Dean and Fern Brady are among the signatories to an open letter to Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government, demanding help.
The plea, from the Association of Scottish Comedy Arts (ASCA), comes as The Stand, one of the country’s oldest and most successful comedy clubs revealed they had been left with choice but to start the redundancy process.
The letter says: “Our sector is at breaking point. 66% of the workforce is reliant on the Self Employment Income Support Scheme which is due to come to an end. Worryingly 37% have been unable to access any financial support at all. We need support now.”
ASCA have asked for the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to come up with either a “sector specific package available to Scottish Comedy in the coming weeks”, or to agree to ring fence funds for comedy in any larger funding packages.
“If this is not secured many clubs, venues, producers, promoters and performers will be lost forever, and the Scottish arts scene will be the poorer for it,” they warn.
Other comics to have signed the letter include Daniel Sloss, Danny Bhoy, Iain Stirling, Greg McHugh, Richard Gadd, Tom Stade, Mark Nelson, Fred MacAulay, Des McLean, and Susie McCabe.
On Saturday, The National revealed that the Stand Comedy Club had emailed supporters warning that the venue’s future was at stake.
In a further statement released over the weekend, the iconic club, which has venues in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle, laid bare some of the difficult decisions they were facing.
“This is a horrible, disheartening, heart-breaking time. While a plan has had to be put in place for a core team to stay on and fight for the survival of our beloved venues after the job retention scheme runs out at the end of October, the vast majority of staff, many of whom have worked for the club for over a decade, in some cases nearly two, have been put on notice that we have no choice other than to make them redundant once furlough is withdrawn. “
The club said it was “the only choice left available to us when we have been given no other way to continue to pay wages, and no solid offers of real help.”
They added: “It’s little consolation that we have been put in this situation by circumstances completely beyond our control – we were a successful business who paid all staff a real living wage, offered their acts a fair deal, paid their taxes, and did all we could to contribute to local charities and support local businesses, all while enriching the cultural landscape of the country. “
Though Nicola Sturgeon has said she hopes lockdown rules for indoor entertainment will ease on September 14, meaning comedy clubs, theatre and other venues can open their doors, the strict social distancing guidelines will mean a much reduced capacity.
The Stand says that for them this means operating at a capacity of 30%, meaning any money they do make will not cover running costs.
The club, which was co-founded by the SNP MP Tommy Sheppard in the mid-90s, have called on UK government to extend the furlough scheme and the Scottish Government to help "by stepping up and, as they have done for other creative industries, offering real financial support in the form of a ring-fenced pot specifically for comedy".
After news of the Stand's plight emerged, Boyle, who is one of the directors of the club, told his 2.8 million Twitter followers: “I started out at The Stand, did an open spot as a student, found it terrifying. They came and found me in my halls of residence and made me give it another go. Be tragic if it goes.”
Bridges posted: “No way this can be allowed to happen. Come on @scotgov – an absolute disaster if these clubs don’t get some arts funding. Comedy is the finest art going.
"My first open mic set was @StandGlasgow over 16 years ago. Eva, Jane, Tommy etc helped me develop all the way through my career and it’s still the best comedy club in the UK. Come on @scotgov @NicolaSturgeon Sort them oot!”
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing on Friday, Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, said she absolutely regarded comedy as an art form and said there would be help available.
The minister said some venues had already received support.
Standing alongside her, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said arts and culture were “essential” for the country.
Sturgeon said: “Comedy, in my view, is a very fine art form. And, you know, perhaps in these challenging times it’s also a particularly valued art form. We should not lose sight of that. As Fiona said we’re providing support in a range of ways.
“You know there’s a question right now, about whether any support is as much as we would want to be giving in an ideal world, but we will continue to work really hard to target support where it is needed, and where can it have most benefit and certainly comedy as an art form is very much included in that.”
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