Since Labour’s election victory in early July of this year, the UK has spent three months under their leadership. Many artists and creatives (although of course, not all), particularly in Fringe theatre longed for a Labour majority and saw this win as a positive shift, mainly for ending Conservative rule. Still, this will not stop them making work that responds to their new government and continue to aim to hold the powers that be to account.
So how do political theatre makers feel about both these first twelve weeks, and the public’s response to it? Last month, YouGov released statistics showing that at the 100-day mark, there were some positive responses to many things, but the majority of Brits disapprove of the means testing of pensioners for winter fuel payments (55%). In fact, one in three Britons (34%) see this as the biggest single fault of Starmer’s government. There are numerous other inequalities and injustices that have become more and more stark over the past decade and a half – which ones of these will Labour address, and which will fall by the wayside?
Here, three performers from Camden’s “The State we’re In Festival” (held at the Camden People’s Theatre) give their thoughts on democracy, the crucial initial few months of Labour rule, their hopes and fears for the future and how it relates to the work they’ve created.
The Food Bank Show by Sam Rees captures the frustration and determination of everyday people demanding a solution to food poverty. Sam says “In making The Food Bank Show, I came into contact with Ian Byrne, the MP for Liverpool and West Derby and a key figure in the UK Right To Food Campaign. We spoke on the phone ahead of the election and his fierce passion for tackling food poverty was palpable down the phone. Part of this conversation is featured in the show. In July, the SNP called for the new Labour government to scrap the two-child-benefit-cap, and Keir Starmer whipped his MPs to vote against the motion. Ian Byrne defied the whip, voting for the cap to be removed, and was kicked out of the Labour Party. The show is written in real-time, so Ian’s expulsion is also discussed in the performance. I think what happened to him is a perfect example of what we’re up against, and how difficult it can be to affect change.
Ian’s catchphrase is ‘hunger is a political choice’, and it’s vitally important that we never forget that as we watch Starmer and his government over the next few years.”
The Food Bank show challenges people to think critically about how systemic inequities impact those struggling to afford necessities.
Whilst in Mute Messiah, it’s the UK’s benefit system up for scrutiny. Theatre company founders and co-directors Paul Kaiba and Isik Kaya says “Our show confronts the machinery of human degradation in the UK’s benefits system—a bureaucracy that strips claimants of dignity, turning need into an exercise in survival. Our work – written before the election – was created in response to an unfolding crisis, a crisis born not of oversight but of intent, where welfare systems are dismantled for efficiency at the expense of human worth.
Labour’s recent win offers one thing: Potential. A fragile promise that the welfare state might be revitalized. There is an undeniable hope in the air, marked by a yearning for dignity, justice, and restoration – yet we remain cautious. The people’s response in these first 100 days reveals this tension: a hunger for real transformation tempered by a wariness that “pragmatism” might once again dilute that hope into hollow reform.
Mute Messiah speaks directly to this new political landscape, reminding Labour that the call to protect welfare isn’t merely procedural; it is about safeguarding lives. This government cannot stop at incremental change but must pursue a bold reimagining of what it means to serve the public good. This work aims to highlight the core mission of the welfare state—to be a genuine lifeline, to close the cracks that have widened into chasms, and to commit to a vision where human security is a universal right, not a privilege. We challenge Labour to reclaim this foundational principle: that the welfare state was meant to protect, to ensure no one is left behind, and to honour that promise with action worthy of its founding ideals”.
Continuing the running theme of confronting the gaps in a system that should protect us all, The Daisy Chain is a call to action for the local public and government bodies in respect of the 80,000+ children currently in the UK’s care system. Writer/Performers Bashiie Baptiste and Princess Bestman say “The show focuses specifically on the Care system and its institutions. Currently Care Experienced people are working towards getting Care experience as a protected characteristic purely because parliament doesn’t take into account the amount of resource and focus needed on the young people in that system. Never being mentioned in terms of education and policy reform means that social workers are overworked and CE people are overlooked or deemed as anti-social. This is a call to action to everyone, it takes a village to raise a child, a government to care and the people to pressure them. With over 80,000 young people in care in the UK (and rising) it’s time we started to focus on developing and building social care so our children feel secure in their futures.”
The State We’re In festival aims to lift the lid on Britain’s democracy, politics and public life. It is headlined by Zakiyyah Dean’s debut play Why A Black Woman Will Never Be Prime Minister; a show exploring black female participation in the political process and black maternal health.
The State We’re In Festival runs at Camden People’s Theatre until the 10th November 2024.
For more information and to book tickets, click here: https://cptheatre.co.uk/festivals/state-2024