‘More arts funding could help solve London’s social issues’

The area around London’s Waterloo station is known for arts, culture and an abundance of theatrical heritage. 

The National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Old and Young Vics, Southwark Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe and many others are all within walking distance of the rail and tube stations, making this a perfect tourist destination. 

However, to the young people who live and go to school in the area, these creative spaces may as well be on the other side of the world due to the barriers they face in accessing them. As a result, local young people feel disconnected from the arts that is right on their doorstep.

‘Organisations like ours are crucial to the prevention of all the things that happen in youth culture that may not be so positive’ – WCT’s Anna Glarin

The unfortunate truth is that cuts made to youth funding over the years has resulted in limited schemes being put in place that would allow the young people in the local community to access this arts scene and reap its potential creative benefits. 

In Lambeth and its neighbouring boroughs across London, youth services funding has suffered devastating cuts. Nearly a third of local councils having implemented or are planning reductions that would see their spending decline by 80 per cent since 2010-11.

This has resulted in closures of youth clubs and centres citywide. Lambeth, in particular, has felt the impact of this, leaving less than ten facilities in the immediate surrounding area.

With only a handful left, those still open are doing all they can to allow the young people to embrace the thriving cultural and arts scene surrounding them. Youth services are crucial to this community, and the arts has a big role to play.

Anna Glarin, the co-founder of Waterloo Community Theatre (WCT), said: “Organisations like ours are crucial to prevention of knife crime and bullying and all the things that happen in youth culture that may not be so positive, but we can influence and change things.”

WCT occasionally receives a financial boost from the National Lottery Community Fund, but this is not a continuous source of income for the organisation to fund sessions for the young people who attend.

WCT gets young people involved in the making theatre in order to persuade them that theatre is something that they can be part of – that it belongs to them. This mindset thrives within the arts community: once the young people feel they can take ownership of their creativity and the facilities surrounding them, they can thrive.

When donations are received these are used to fund any trips or projects WCT wish to run with the young people. Any money going spare also means it is able to pay staff for their time and dedication, but all to often they work on a volunteer basis, which is to be applauded on one hand and an issue that needs to be resolved on the other. 

Organisations such as WCT are crucial to their the local communities. As the young people of WCT say, it’s a place you can come at the end of the week to let off steam and have fun and speak your mind without fear of judgement. It’s a safe space for their creativity to grow.

Anna Glarin hopes that, with increased funding, WCT will have a permanent home of their own and by working with the two local schools at least once a year, both primary and secondary, the numbers of young people taking part will continue to grow.