Female-led Cornish theatre company working to break down class inequality in the creative industries
Recent research has revealed young people from working-class backgrounds are being “blocked” from entering the creative industries – and Cornwall-based feminist production company Scary Little Girls has wholeheartedly backed the call for action to prevent this.
A report from the Sutton Trust, published this month, found stark overrepresentation in the arts for those from the most affluent backgrounds, which it defines as those from “upper middle-class backgrounds” and said the creative industries remain “elitist” and inaccessible.
Scary Little Girls have been working for the past 20 years to create opportunities for underrepresented groups in the arts – and have been talking to colleagues in the live arts in Cornwall to advocate for change across the board.
Rebecca Mordan, artistic director and founder of Scary Little Girls, said: “This is a sad and sorry state of affairs that we've been aware of, and working to challenge for many years. Barriers to entry come in many forms - from the overt to the subtle - and result in a cultural sector that neither represents who we really are as a society, nor speaks to everyone within it.”
She added: “We wholeheartedly back the call made here for action to be taken and have been undertaking our own work to open up opportunities here in Cornwall.”
Scary Little Girls has co-run five open table events, working with Hall for Cornwall, ‘Owdyado Theatre and Creative Kernow Associates. Taking place in Penryn, Helston, Liskeard, St Ives and Truro throughout 2024, they met with around 100 colleagues in the performing arts and creative sector.
Similar themes emerged from these open table sessions, with many artists talking about issues which affect them – and will affect those from working-class backgrounds more directly. Those themes included:
The digs culture is desperate with no affordable places to rent due to a prevalence of holiday accommodation rentals in the county. This hampers moving work around the county and in and out of the county and is drastically cutting out the funding stream for local artists causing them to leave the industry
Rehearsal spaces in Cornwall are not affordable, and this affects the ability to create, explore and rehearse new pieces of work
The transport infrastructure in Cornwall proves challenging for those in the live arts with not enough buses and public transport, as well as the costs of transport – or petrol costs for their own cars – providing a challenge
No centralised support in the form of talent agencies or similar who can share information about audition opportunities and help to share work and portfolios
Rebecca said: “There’s no escaping that people are finding this very hard. But everyone also cares a lot and wants to come and do what they can. There’s a lot of support and also a lot of hope - as well as a resurgent energy to continue conversations.
“Everyone is passionate about pushing Cornwall’s individuality in terms of its rich performative culture and how much Cornwall has in common with the Celtic crescent. Cornwall’s culture is part of the international community, and we want the government to see this and to provide levels of support that make the creative industries accessible to all.”
Scary Little Girls is a feminist theatre company, started over twenty years ago by creative director Rebecca Mordan. Set up to provide opportunities for women in the creative arts, their mission is to tell underrepresented stories and to give a platform to the voices less heard.
And over the years, they’ve carved out a unique space within the national arts agenda. One of the few feminist theatre companies in the UK, the production company has provided opportunities for hundreds of people to continue their careers in the creative arts.
Scary Little Girls has – in the last 12 months alone – worked with over 100 creative arts freelancers across the UK, with a 98% female freelance workforce.
The touring company has created dozens of paid and voluntary opportunities for women to join them – playing at six festivals including Glastonbury, Green Man and Cornwall-based The Great Estate, creating over twenty new shows touring their home county of Cornwall (as well as touring nationally) and running two Mayven festivals.
Over their 22 years in the arts industry, the theatre company estimates they have provided over 4,000 opportunities for people in the creative arts workforce.
To discover more about the work of Scary Little Girls, visit:
