Will Close: Theatre is at risk of becoming a private club
Olivier award-winning actor Will Close has warned that theatre is at risk of becoming a “private club”, as he urged the industry to ensure it is creating opportunities for people from lower-income backgrounds.
Close highlighted the difficulties he faced growing up and his views on how theatre is diversifying.
He was speaking at The Stage Debut Awards 2024, where he was nominated for Best West End Debut Performer for his role in Dear England at Prince Edward Theatre, London.
He said: “It’s still a process. I am particularly aware, as an artist from a working-class background, how you support that ‘invisible minority’ and how you give opportunities to people from working-class backgrounds.
“If we don’t make more of an effort to find working-class creatives and get those people into the arts, there is a massive threat of [theatre] becoming a ‘private club’, and that would be so detrimental on every level.”
He added: “I am really hyper-aware of making sure we create opportunities for people who come from those low-income backgrounds. It’s so important.”
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Close went on to give details of his introduction to theatre, and explained: “Growing up, I don’t think I ever went to the theatre with my school – barring an odd pantomime trip. It was only because my mum used to take me once or twice a year, which was all the spare money we had to go, that I learned about it.
“But if you don’t have that, how do you even know about theatre and the opportunities it includes?”
The Dear England star, who was named best actor in a supporting role at this year’s Oliver Awards, also discussed the comparison of football, and sports more generally, with theatre.
“With anything on a sporting level, it’s who can run the fastest, who can play the best that gets the chance to flourish,” he said.
“What we do, it’s different – things are subjective and open to interpretation, but you still want that level playing field as much as you can to give people the chance to find out about it.”
Responding to the Labour government’s approach to the arts, which has included commitments to foreground creative subjects in education, Close said: “I definitely feel like it’s positive news. The bar was very low and things can only get better.”
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