Guest Blog: Paul Bradshaw on Barriers to Creatives and Bringing His Double-Bill TELL ME STRAIGHT and AGGY to The Park Theatre

‘How are you gonna afford it?!’, asked Mum. With a yearly income of less than £12,000 and drama school fees at that per year, it was a very valid response. And to be honest, that question on has underscored my career.

Being the first benefit-class theatre maker to have a double bill programmed at Park Theatre I’ve been asked to write about the barriers faced by low-socioeconomic creatives. There are monthly articles in The Guardian and The Stage analysing these issues in more detail than I ever could. What I can do, though, is tell you a hugely condensed version of my journey to demystify what it’s taken for me to bring tell me straight and aggy to the stage.

Coming from nothing is a blessing and a curse as you get used to living on very little. And in an industry that survives by exploiting emerging creatives, you’re actively encouraged into taking no/low pay jobs to build your CV. In my case, that happened as an actor, then director and again when I started to write plays. Starting from profit shares, to unpaid scratch nights, or if you were lucky, the promise of £20 to cover travel and lunch. If you can afford to, these jobs are a great place to get that all important first credit, meet other exciting collaborators and have been instrumental in my career.

The expectation of low pay doesn’t shift when you start working towards bringing a full production to the stage. During the multi award-winning run of tell me straight at The King’s Head I was the last person to be paid, and it worked out as less than £150 a week to cover my fee as both actor and writer. Off the back of that run, I had some meetings with producers who put together potential budgets, and when I noticed there was no fee for me, they swiftly informed me, ‘playwrights don’t normally get paid at this level’. Needless to say, I didn’t work with them.

Making your own work is like a ship sailing across the sea. But when you’re from a background like mine you’re not just steering, you have to be the wind in the sails, the motion in the ocean, the blokes that built the ship back on land…I ran out of ship metaphors, but you get the picture. Every week someone tells me how I’m the hardest working person they know, or that I’m the ‘definition of resilience’. I kinda have no option but to be that. But I definitely do have the option to make sure I’m paid fairly.

I’ve used the last few years to deepen existing relationships and build community with likeminded, passionate artists. The team across the double bill are extraordinary and at the top of their game, and suddenly I don’t have to be every member of the ship…manufacturing… crew? Anyway! When it comes to venues it’s been a slightly rockier road. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had an email bounce back because someone has left a development department or after some promising emails back and forth, you’re just ghosted.

Luckily the follow up I sent to The Park found its way to the inbox of the incredible Ellen Harris who has been a huge support to me since we received programming back in February 2025. The whole team at The Park have been nothing short of amazing and I’m honoured to bring both plays to their loyal audiences. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there!