We Are More Than Just Your Diversity Check List

 Have you ever been watching a show at the theatre, or a movie or a TV show and found yourself thinking: ‘Ah there’s the token POC so this production doesn’t look racist’? Because I can’t count the amount of times that has happened to me.

Growing up, I watched a lot of Bollywood movies but naturally I also loved watching Hollywood movies and I also loved getting to go on school trips to the theatre to see different shows. However, the number of times I would see myself represented on stage or on the big screen was scarce. I remember thinking that one day it would get better. At one point I even dreamed of being on stage myself as an Indian performer in the West End.

Now I find myself in the big year of 2021 and I feel like we’ve barely moved from the point we were at ten years ago. Conversations surrounding diversity – or the lack thereof – are getting louder, but a lot of these conversations are still mostly coming from POC. Our voices are going hoarse at how much we’re fighting to be heard, to be seen and to be acknowledged.

The theatre industry, for example, vowed to better diversify themselves following the Black Lives Matter movement. It, along with other art industries, promised to listen to, amplify and showcase Black and POC voices. It felt hopeful and it felt like genuine change was coming. Now I’m not saying that it was all lies because a lot of people proved themselves to be true allies, wanting the same goal of diversity as all of us. However, the number of cast announcements for shows that are released are still overwhelmingly white.

For me, the biggest sting (especially as someone who loves the theatre) is when productions of 30+ cast members can apparently only manage to cast 1 or 2 POC despite auditioning possibly hundreds of people. Some people will try and argue “It shouldn’t come down to skin colour though, it should be down to talent!” which blows my mind because are you suggesting that of all the ethnic people that auditioned – they could only find a couple that were talented enough to make it into their show?

This is why I chose the title I did for today’s post because despite promises of diversity, it’s still feeling like this isn’t something productions actually want. They’re still happy having their mostly white cast and creative teams with a few POC sprinkled throughout to try and ensure they can save face and not look as though they’re racist because, let’s face it, they hate being called a racist more than they hate actually being racist.

The lack of diversity in theatre is even worse when it comes to pantos where roles such as Aladdin and Jasmine (characters that brown people would get to see themselves in) are often white-washed. Or when a certain production won’t allow POC children to audition for their show. All of these are perfect examples of being told that POC are only needed for their money to pay for tickets for these shows but that we shouldn’t be seen or heard nor are we worth celebrating.

Speaking up for diversity shouldn’t be falling on deaf ears yet here we are. It feels as though everything we and our white allies say goes in one ear and out the other. These people who are in charge and have the power to make the changes needed; acknowledge it with a notes app statement, promising that they’ll do better but then it’s never spoken about again. Or they’ll post a black square to “show support for Black Lives Matter” but when it actually comes to using their privilege and power to make changes they suddenly go quiet.

Striving for diversity isn’t something that is trying to erase white, cis, straight, able-bodied people. We just want to see a world where POC and LGBTQIA+, disabled and other marginalised groups are given the same opportunities. We want to see a West End where the casts and creative teams are beautifully diverse in every way possible. It’s not asking for much and as tired as we are – we’re not going to stop fighting for this. But we can’t do it on our own. So, white allies? Please fight for diversity with us. Call out the racism, call out the lack of diversity. Support performers of colour, support the smaller productions that are actually diverse. We can all be the change together.