Ian McIhinney, Rachel Tucker and Adrian Dunbar support rally in Belfast organised by arts and entertainment trade union Equity to prevent industry cuts

Two hundred and fifty members of the community showed up to Equity’s Resist The Cuts public meeting on April 25 both in person and online.

Actress Rachel Tucker (Wicked, Hope Street) gave a speech and actors Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty) and IanMcIhinney (Derry Girls, Game of Thrones) sent video messages of support.

Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union, will hand in a petition signed by the meeting’s attendees to the Communities Department on Thursday morning (April 27) at 9.30am.

Held at the Black Box arts venue in Belfast, the meeting was an opportunity for members of Northern Ireland’s community to call on Colum Boyle Permanent Secretary, of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for Communities, not to cut 10% of its funding to the arts in Northern Ireland.

On-stage speakers also included general secretary of Equity, Paul W Fleming; Bobbi Rai-Purdey, community engagement manager from Prime Cut Productions, one of Ireland’s leading independent companies; and Sam Dunkley, acting regional organiser for Scotland and Northern Ireland from the Musicians’ Union, alongside messages of solidarity from high-profile Equity members.

Other representatives in attendance either in person or online included Jimmy Fay from the Lyric Theatre and representatives from a wide variety of arts organisations and venues including the MAC, Kabosh, Tinderbox, Replay, Green Room, Soda Bread/Pint Sized productions, Theatre and Dance NI, Tinderbox, Prime Cut, Comedia of Errors, GLB, Green Shoot, the Rainbow Project, the Rainbow Factory and Youth Action NI.

Representatives from the Society of Authors, ArtsCare and BECTU were also in attendance – as were the University of the Atypical which coaches artists with disabilities.

Politicians in attendance included Sian Mulholland (Alliance), Séamas de Faoite (SDLP), and Paula Bradshaw (Alliance).

Sian Mulholland MLA said: “The Arts in Northern Ireland are transformative, life changing and community building. They are vital to the celebration of identity in safe and challenging ways and through using the arts as a vehicle, real change and growth can happen at grass roots levels within communities.

"The arts are often the first to be cut and the last to be invested in and these proposed cuts will have a devastating impact on a thriving sector.”

Ian McIlhinney, said: “Why is it that every time cuts to central funding are considered it appears to be the arts that take the biggest hit?

"As people we need to be entertained, we need to be amused, diverted, transported, uplifted.

"When these things are not available we feel it. It affects our mental health, our well-being. We recognised that during Covid.

“The Arts Council needs to recognise that its role has to be more than simply passing messages from central government to us, the practitioners. There has to be some proper mediation that goes between us and them.

"The arts are vital but government here in Northern Ireland unfortunately does not seem to understand that.

"The inference that cuts may be on the way demonstrates sadly yet again that they have no vision for artistic creation here in Northern Ireland.”

He added: “So we have to speak out, we must resist and we have to hope that they will recognise our significance.”

Adrian Dunbar, said: “Well done to all of you who are taking part in this rally to stop these cuts that are happening to our artistic institutions.

"It hardly seems credible that we’re having to fight once again for the civilising influence that the arts have had on Northern Ireland over the last 50 years.

"When you think about it, it’s absolutely incredible.

"This is very important work you’re doing and a very important statement you’re making and I congratulate all of you. Good luck and keep er lit.”

Rachel Tucker added: “I’ve come home to film season three of Hope Street and I’m furious to find out about the millions of pounds being taken out of Northern Irish arts.

"At the age of nine I joined Equity, during the Troubles, and the money was flowing from one community to the other to bring us together.

"That’s why the money was there, to try to bring children away from fighting each other.

"I was fortunate to see the benefits of arts funding at the time, it was in abundance.

"In 50 years we’ll look back at the cuts that have happened.

"The generation below me will not get what I took for granted as a child, being taught by the best in our business for singing, acting, dancing.

"We cannot let them down, its so important.”

Equity is made up of more than 47,000 performers and creative workers, united in the fight for fair terms and conditions in the workplace.

It is a conglomeration of actors, singers, dancers, designers, directors, stage managers, puppeteers, comedians, voice artists, and variety performers.