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British theater is trying to put the house in order when it comes to diversity, but the director of a new West End musical about Bob Marley fears that progress won’t go far enough.
Clint Dyer, who replaced Dominic Cooke as director of the delayed show, said ideas for the theater’s future were promising. “The theater has definitely responded to some of his biases,” Dyer said. “In an opinion-based industry, it is particularly difficult to get people to accept their own prejudices.
“I think efforts are being made to change the future. If efforts are being made to recognize and compensate for the past it is a whole other conversation. “
Black Lives Matter’s summer protests prompted arts organizations to examine their efforts to improve the diversity of their workforce, programs and audiences.
Dyer said he was more confident than certain for the future. “I’m not confident at all… Look what happened in the past. Look at my gray hair. Remember the 80s, remember political correctness, comics about changing the world, Nelson Mandela free, an end to capitalism, bla bla bla. And then you remember the 90s when everyone was like, ‘Oh yeah, we did. There is no more racism. Racism has disappeared. “”
He recalled being invited to an industry event to attend Barack Obama’s inauguration. Dyer was the only black face and was asked, “Why don’t you celebrate?”
Dyer said there was a clear sense of guilt this year driving the change. “Whether or not the guilt turns into something that is recognizable to the people who have suffered … some sort of reparation, it would be an interesting position to put people in.”
Tickets for Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, written by Lee Hall and starring Arinzé Kene, will go on sale on Tuesday with an opening night scheduled for June 16.
Dyer recalled being contacted by Cooke, the former Royal Court art director, who had been involved in developing the show. “He just laid the most beautiful golden egg at my door,” Dyer said. “As a black Englishman of Jamaican descent, there have not been enough jobs where I have been allowed to truly use my skills, abilities and knowledge.
“It actually makes sense for everything I am. He’s literally putting all the parts together. “
The musical will tell Marley’s story using her catalog of previous songs, including Exodus, No Woman No Cry and Waiting in Vain. It’s a show that will have a deeper resonance after the events of 2020, Dyer said. “I find it hard to say the perfect time, but it’s a time when things collided … it’s a time I think people are actually listening.”
Kene absorbed all of Marley’s stuff before rehearsals start next year. He said the three most important artists to him growing up were Fela Kuti, Stevie Wonder and Marley.
“In my personal history as a Nigerian, it is known that some of our songs from hundreds of years ago … [contained] survival information. There may be a song that tells you how to get to the water and avoid a dangerous area.
“I find Marley does the same thing – there is survival information in his music. It’s great to dance, but it also teaches you something and you will remember it no matter who you are. “
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