Comedians write open letter to Government asking for urgent support for venues
More than 70 performers and people in the comedy industry have called for emergency intervention by Creative Scotland.
Last updated 24th Aug 2020
Kevin Bridges and Frankie Boyle are among the people to have signed an open letter to the Scottish Government which outlines the industry's desperation for support funding during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The letter, sent by the Association of Scottish Comedic Arts, says it's an emergency situation to stop the collapse of much-loved venues like the Stand.
It also suggests funding would help ensure individual performers can sustain themselves during the pandemic.
The letter states: "We note Creative Scotland’s assertion that they have supported comedy with Bursaries and the open fund. We have found very little evidence of this, in fact of 70 freelancers working in the Scottish Comedy Industry surveyed, only one had accessed CS Bridging Bursary.
"Further to this, we have evidence showing very few applications from stand up comics secure funding and that there are barriers preventing our venues and performers accessing the finance made available by Scottish Government or Creative Scotland.
"We are carrying out robust research into the projects and people who were denied these funding streams in order to understand the issues, and we will share our findings in due course."
It continues: " 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.
"Scotland’s dedicated comedy venues have a long history of providing grassroots support without them household names like Kevin Bridges, Daniel Sloss, Frankie Boyle, Danny Bhoy, Fern Brady, Susan Calman, Fred MacAuly, Greg McHugh and Larry Dean would have struggled to develop their craft."
"We request confirmation from both the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland that there will be a sector specific package available to Scottish Comedy in the coming weeks, or that funds will be ring-fenced for our sector 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."