That was the fatuous statement by Boris Johnson in Parliament earlier this week when asked how the government might help the arts community, in particular theatre. What an absolute arse! The man has no idea. I remember being asked by the Evening Standard in the run up to the Mayoral election in London when Boris threw his hat into the ring, what I thought would be the better choice for London, Boris or Ken. I seem to remember saying that one of them had absolutely no qualifications, he couldn't even run a magazine, (The New Statesman) so how he could be Mayor, God only knows!
And now here is at the country's helm making a proper mess of the country. His party has managed, with a huge majority, (Well, I understand why the majority didn't want Jeremy) to ruin, once and for all the people's respect for politics, such as it was. We had a truly divided country thru' Brexit, made worse by him, but a chance, just a chance to heal those wounds and pull us together on a single path. Well, he has blown it. Is blowing it, and will, no doubt, continue to blow it as long as Cummings and he think they area above the people of this land. They have managed to mimic Trump's worst attributes. They lie and lie and lie and slap us in the faces as they are doing it. And now they ignore the arts. Theatre, and all it's wonderful relatives, ballet, opera, music, and so on, make SO much money for this country, and are an ENORMOUS draw financially thru the tourism they encourage. And Boris just says, "The Show Must Go On". WHAT DOES THAT MEAN BORIS?
I'm sorry, but I am so angry about the way he has dismissed the arts, and we have nobody in Government fighting for us. Oliver Dowden? Who the hell is he? Has anyone ever heard of him? Our Minister for the Arts? Buck your ideas up Boris or even your own party will denounce you and you'll be out before your term finishes! As a wonderful old lion used to say, "Why I oughtta..."
If anyone is interested
There is actually a much more articulate view by the brilliant Michael Billington in the Guardian today...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jul/03/oliver-dowden-arts-crisis-michael-billington