Personally Speaking: ‘Invest­ment in the arts enriches our well­being’

My Personally Speaking column in The Sentinel (9 April 2026)

The people of our com­munity spoke this month and elec­ted a new major­ity at the bor­ough coun­cil. I con­grat­u­late all those who won their seats and thank all those who weren’t suc­cess­ful, for their ser­vice and for put­ting their hands up to serve the com­munity.

I will be work­ing every day to hold the bor­ough coun­cil to account so that we get the rep­res­ent­a­tion we deserve.

Our area has a rich cul­ture, sus­tained by a thriv­ing arts sec­tor. We have a fant­astic arts her­it­age, and it is one that needs to be sup­por­ted.

That’s why the recent announce­ment of more than £295,000 invest­ment from the Gov­ern­ment for the New Vic Theatre is such pos­it­ive news for our com­munity and a power­ful step in cement­ing that leg­acy.

The fund­ing is part of the £1.5 bil­lion ‘Arts Every­where Fund’, a national ini­ti­at­ive designed to pro­tect cul­tural spaces across the coun­try.

The New Vic Theatre is a jewel in the North Stafford­shire crown. In my maiden speech back in July 2024, I chal­lenged the out­dated view that the cul­tural offer­ing north of the Wat­ford Gap is some kind of ‘cul­tural desert’.

I told the House then, as I believe now, that New­castle-under-lyme, and the New Vic, are a bril­liant example of the innov­a­tion our area offers to the rest of the coun­try.

Last sum­mer, I took the then Arts Min­is­ter, Sir Chris Bry­ant MP, to the New Vic to see their work first-hand.

On Fri­day, I was back at the New Vic to meet with the artistic dir­ector, Theresa Heskins and hear about how this new invest­ment is being put into prac­tice.

I also had the pleas­ure of meet­ing the cast of Around The World In 80 Days, which is tak­ing to the stage to mark the theatre’s 40th anniversary cel­eb­ra­tions.

To ensure the New Vic thrives for its next 40 years, we must main­tain the infra­struc­ture that makes it so unique.

The New Vic was the first pur­pose-built theatre-in-the-round in Europe when it opened in 1986.

That design means every audi­ence mem­ber is close to the action, but it also presents spe­cific tech­nical chal­lenges.

Delivered through the Arts Coun­cil’s Cre­at­ive Found­a­tions Fund, the invest­ment we have secured will pay for the work needed to meet those chal­lenges.

It cov­ers the install­a­tion of new digital sound, light­ing and com­mu­nic­a­tions sys­tems, and other key infra­struc­ture.

When the audi­ence sur­rounds the stage, get­ting the audio right from every angle is com­plic­ated. Sort­ing out these nuts and bolts now means the theatre won’t be held back by repair­ing out­dated equip­ment in the future – cut­ting ongo­ing main­ten­ance costs and allow­ing people to con­tinue enjoy­ing per­form­ances for years to come.

Invest­ment in the arts provides a tan­gible fin­an­cial return for our com­munity.

When a major pro­duc­tion at the New Vic draws audi­ences into New­castle-under­lyme, we see money spent in our local shops and res­taur­ants, and on our local ser­vices – sup­port­ing busi­nesses well bey­ond the theatre.

Our area – rooted in the indus­trial heart­lands – is defined by our his­tory in min­ing and man­u­fac­tur­ing but the New Vic proves we are also a home for artistic tal­ent.

New­castle-under-lyme is a place where local young people can learn a new trade and start careers in the cre­at­ive indus­tries. By sup­port­ing the New Vic, we’re show­ing the rest of the coun­try that our area is a hub for new ideas and cul­tural expres­sion as well as tra­di­tional industry.

The work of the team at the New Vic reaches well bey­ond the stage through its com­munity out­reach.

They run com­munity pro­grammes, such as their pion­eer­ing demen­tia café which provides a social life­line for local fam­il­ies and carers. They also work dir­ectly with schools across the area to help stu­dents build the con­fid­ence, com­mu­nic­a­tion, and team­work skills that are essen­tial in any mod­ern work­place.

These ini­ti­at­ives are a prime example of why invest­ment in the arts is not just about what hap­pens on that fam­ous stage in-the-round, but a prac­tical way to improve well­being and social inclu­sion.

Every ticket sold is an invest­ment in the lives of the people these pro­grammes sup­port loc­ally. By improv­ing the theatre’s infra­struc­ture, we are guar­an­tee­ing the future of this com­munity work.

I will con­tinue work­ing to pro­tect – and cel­eb­rate – our cul­tural spaces so they remain open, thriv­ing, and access­ible to every­one in our com­munity for gen­er­a­tions to come.