Imelda Staunton and Olivia Colman have called on all political parties to urgently invest in the arts as research by Equity suggested funding in the UK has dropped by 16% since 2017.
The research, commissioned by the performing arts union and carried out by the Autonomy Institute, drew on funding data from Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Wales, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Creative Scotland over the past decade.
“But too many places in the UK have been left without arts funding, depriving audiences and performers alike.”
Since 2017, average annual real-terms funding in England dropped by 11%, in Wales 30%, and in Northern Ireland 16%, according to the figures.