Slow Horses star takes to Glasgow stage to protest arts funding cut

Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, who studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, took to the stage at the end of The Fifth Step in The Pavilion to make the heartfelt plea.

“This cut is stupid and completely unacceptable,” he told the packed audience, who cheered their support.

Jack Lowden and Sean Gilder in The Fifth Step (Image: Simon Murphy)

Creative Scotland announced last week it was closing its Open Fund for Individuals to new applications after Scottish Government ministers were unable to confirm if £6.6m of funding would be released.

The fund supports artists, musicians, producers and writers.

Jack, who is line for an Emmy for his portrayal of River Cartwright in the Apple TV spy drama Slow Horses, was appearing with Sean Gilder in David Ireland’s hard-hitting play about a young alcoholic trying to get his life back on track with the help of his older sponsor.

Jack Lowden (Image: Newsquest)

After the curtain calls, the actor surprised the audience by returning to the stage to deliver the impassioned speech.

“Shows like this are only possible because an artist was able to develop an idea,” he said. “Artists are the ground zero of an eco system that begins with ideas.

“We all need the arts, all of us. Whether that’s an escape route to another life for kids in school struggling with acadaemia, whether it’s to raise awareness of places, people and things that need a spotlight shone on them, or whether it’s to watch something at home that makes us think or helps us not to think, we all need the arts, all of us.”

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Jack finished by acknowledging the cost-of-living crisis and called for everyone to “make a bit of noise”, to contact their MSP to protest, and to show support by using the hashtag #noartwithoutartists.

“We know that times are particularly hard in most areas of life at the moment, we are not blind to that," he added. "But we in the arts, a sector that is too often considered a luxury or not as important, we are all beginning to grow sick of the ‘punching above our weight’ tagline that is so often thrown at us as a kind of ‘och we do all right’ cop out,” he said.

“We have the potential in this country in the arts to be more than all right.

“So we are asking that the government steps up, stops this cut and gives us back the support our industry desperately needs.”

The National Theatre of Scotland production of The Fifth Step is at The Pavilion until Saturday.