Lisa Nandy: The arts are not afraid to broach controversial subjects

Nandy also referenced The Merchant of Venice 1936 starring Tracy-Ann Oberman, which she labelled a feat of skilful social commentary about the uptick in anti-semitism in the UK through the prism of a classical play.

"Nobody could come away from watching that play without an inescapable sense of the parallels of modern Britain and the rise in antisemitism that we’re seeing," she said.

"That is a really creative way of keeping a play that has a brilliant use of language, that has really troubling echoes from our past, and reinventing it for the modern age. That’s the sort of ingenuity that we have here in the UK in the arts world."

However, despite saying she was not worried about the arts’ treatment of difficult subjects, Nandy also highlighted concerns about the representation of a variety of communities and heritages across the UK’s cultural institutions. 

She told journalists: "Too many people for too long haven’t seen themselves, their communities, their heritage reflected in our national story, and I honestly believe that that is part of Britain’s current malaise."

She added: "For too long our national story has centred on a handful of people in a few corners of the country. That’s not good enough, and it’s got to change."

Nandy’s comments preceded an inaugural lecture at the RSC to commemorate Lee’s white paper. Her speech focused on Labour’s various efforts, including the Arts Everywhere fund and the upcoming curriculum review, to tackle a "cultural crisis" she said was one of the results of increasing social and economic divides.  

During her speech Nandy also took aim at politicians continuing to stoke culture wars, adding: “The arts are a political space, but the idea that politicians should impose a version of culture on our nation is utterly chilling to me.”