We wanted to respond to the recent news in relation to the Globe's casting of Richard III that has raised some key issues within disability arts. Please find our statement below:
DaDaFest has signed the Disabled Artist Alliance’s open letter alongside over 200 individuals and organisations regarding the Globe’s announcement of Richard III casting of a non-disabled actor in the lead role.
Richard III is one of the few lead roles in Shakespeare which represents the lived experience of a disabled character.
As an organisation working with disabled artists to create inclusive opportunities within an industry where they are so often underrepresented and disproportionately face barriers to opportunity, we felt it imperative for us to add our voice to this important discussion.
Disabled actors have fought hard to be included in an industry rife with bias and challenge to be cast in roles traditionally reserved for non-disabled actors.
Much of the discourse around this announcement suggests that maybe any actor should be able to play any part – that’s what acting is – pretending to be someone else with a different background and life experiences than yourself.
However, until we truly reach a point of Equality then we must be clear that oppressed, marginalised and underrepresented groups and individuals need to be prioritised. Roles, funding, support, and training need to be ringfenced for disabled artists and much more until attitudes shift, and people and groups aren’t consistently pushed out.
Ensuring that disabled artists are given the opportunity to represent disabled characters in prominent performances should be a given. This decision feels like a huge step backwards in terms of progress for our disabled community and the arts, and we join our colleagues in imploring the Globe to rethink their casting and look at their approach to inclusion moving forward.