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http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2015/apr/13/deaf-and-disabled-artists-we-will-not-let-government-cuts-make-us-invisible Deaf and disabled artists: we will not let government cuts make us invisible The cuts to the Access to Work scheme and the closure of the Independent Living Fund are terrifying to contemplate – but they won’t thwart Graeae’s ambition For the last 16 months, my theatre company, Graeae, has been battling against cuts to the Access to Work (ATW) scheme and its new proposed framework. Thecuts to the scheme, and these changes, will make life extremely hard for freelance deaf artists in particular. Not only are they being penalised for paying class 2 national insurance, but they may also have to manage a budget cap of £40,800 per year. That may sound great, but in reality it means that should they be lucky and have a good run of work, they may then find that they can’t accept any more work for the rest of the year because their allowance has run out and they can’t afford to cover the cost of their sign language interpreters. If the theatre companies they are working for can’t afford to cover these costs, the deaf artists won’t be able to accept work. So not only are these artists (and the sign language interpreters) out of work but theatres will be less likely to employ deaf and disabled people because we come with a massive pound sign over our heads. There is a cap on my own allowance, which means that Graeae is left to cover the cost of the rest of my sign language requirements, so effectively I can only work two and a half days a week. Who rehearses a show for two and a half days a week? I can bank the hours (unless they change that rule) so I can actually be in rehearsals full time but then, having used up my allocation, I am faced with weeks and weeks of no access. I am going to have to self-censor which meetings I go to, which projects I can lead on, which play labs I can run. I’m CEO and artistic director of Graeae, and a national and international ambassador (ATW have refused all my international work last year and this year so far) for the sector, but these changes mean I will become invisible. This terrifies me. And there’s more – last week I had a catch up with John Kelly (my glorious front man in Reasons to be Cheerful and the narrator in The Threepenny Opera) about the severe impact, and stripping away of all human rights which has resulted from the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) which effectively means those people with personal needs support will be shoved back in residential care homes. All John wants to do is be a jobbing actor/ musician and to provide for his loved ones and live a full life. At the moment all his effort is on campaigning and trying to sort a plan B when ILF closes on 30 June this year. Advertisement In total contrast, I felt huge amounts of pride and joy seeing our five Write to PlayYear One writers have their extracts performed at the National Theatre Studio. The initiative aims to develop the skills and experience of deaf and disabled writers. Feeling the cheers from our partners (National Theatre Studio, Soho theatre and Royal Court) and the writers’ mentors, and seeing the smiles from the next five new writers and our Year Two partners (Bolton Octagon, Liverpool Everyman and Manchester Royal Exchange) only strengthens my resolve to ensure that we continue to advocate and celebrate the richness of talent within the deaf and disabled arts community. Graeae is a company that makes theatre that matters and there is no way I am going to let the cuts to ATW and the closure of the ILF thwart the company’s ambition. Neither am I going to let us be relegated to the sidelines. We have a huge responsibility to pave the way for the next generation of artists, leaders and thinkers. We are back to the very heart of why Graeae was set up in the first place: to be brilliant, to challenge perception and to fight exclusion. We will survive because we like a challenge, and we will survive because we have to.