10 May SDUK Blog – David Mercatali

Since 2017, Wales has been my home, initially working here as an Associate Director within a building, and then afterwards remaining here as a freelancer. Due to this I have an insight into both sides of the process for theatre directors, and as we now face an unprecedented situation for all directors as we collectively try to pick up the pieces coming out of the pandemic, I hope I can use my perspective to help directors in Wales. It is essential we not just get back to where we were, but improve a situation which has been very difficult for Welsh and Wales based directors for too long now.

Last year, SDUK supported two members to write a report funded by Arts Council Wales  on the situation for Directors in Wales entitled ‘Forever Emerging’. The findings tell a familiar story for directors everywhere: whilst there are schemes for directors beginning their careers, with assistant director opportunities attached to them, these schemes are hard to get onto for the majority of directors, and even for those who do, the employment opportunities often do not sustain. Directors find themselves supported only so far, before having to find a way to sustain their career with no logical next step. Often these schemes are not continued through a change in Artistic leader, so even they are not a guaranteed opportunity going forward.

One of the most telling aspects is how hard it is for freelance directors in Wales to move outside of studio spaces, with many mid-career directors hired from outside Wales for main house shows. This is an issue that goes beyond Wales, with directors across the UK finding that making that step from studio work to main houses incredibly difficult, with a feeling that they cannot be trusted by most Artistic Directors with larger scale work. This situation is more acute in Wales though: with only a handful of venues and companies hiring freelancers, without an opportunity to direct larger scale work from one of those few venues or companies, directors careers will be permanently stalled.

The lack of these opportunities has led to a situation where it is incredibly hard for Welsh and Wales based directors to be considered for leadership roles in major institutions. Most of the major venues and companies have hired and currently hire their artistic leaders from outside Wales. The Welsh artistic community welcomes artists from outside Wales who come in and contribute to the cultural diversity that has been embedded for so long, I came myself from outside of Wales, and have been welcomed and appreciated for what I have to offer. But the issue is when most internal candidates feel they would not even be in the running for leadership roles, due to a lack of experience. However if the opportunities to the direct that larger scale work are not there, and the directors are stuck at studio level, or ‘emerging’, then they are caught in a bind they cannot get out of.

The report makes many good recommendations that could make a real structural difference to opportunities for directors in Wales, including: all directing opportunities being advertised (Theatr Clwyd did this very helpfully on a recent production), more transparency in hiring, training opportunities being attached to production, more Associate positions, and the potential for shared creative leadership of institutions. What excites me about these ideas is not only would they make a huge difference to Wales, they could influence the culture wider afield. The problems for directors in Wales may be exacerbated by a smaller number of theatres, but much of what I’ve talked about will be familiar to directors across the UK. If Wales’ institutions could lead the way on this, they could influence better practice for all directors across the UK.

In terms of SDUK, we consider our role now to facilitate these early conversations with venues and companies about the findings of the report. We know that there is a will from artistic leaders to help directors in Wales, we hope we can have constructive conversations with them to hear what they took from the report and hear what their plans are to address it. As part of this, I will be setting up a working party of directors in Wales to help me with this process. If you are a Welsh or Wales based director, please do contact me through SDUK if you’d be interested in being part of it. I’m sure together we can make the positive change we need.