Artist Ray Young: ‘Our government is threatening disabled people’s rights – there’s no compassion’

The government “has no compassion” for neurodiverse and disabled people, a leading artist has warned – but there is “strength in community”.

Last week, Rishi Sunak announced plans to strip GPs of the power to sign people off work. The prime minister claimed the policy will tackle the UK’s so-called ‘sick note culture.’ But leading disability charity Scope has described it as “a full-on assault on disabled people”.

Performance artist Ray Young agrees. The writer – whose award-winning show OUT opens at Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler’s Wells in London today (25 April) – has warned that ableism is “entrenched in our working systems and capitalist culture”.

“[The culture is] work now, faster, faster, faster. For some people, that’s not possible,” they said. “We have a dangerous government at the moment which is threatening people’s rights in terms of disability and mental health. There’s no compassion there.”

When we prioritise “speed, productivity and profit” over creativity, care and wellness, something gets broken, they added. But art can “carve out” spaces to heal.

Ray Young’s interdisciplinary projects explored activism, queerness, race and neurodiversity – all of which, they say, intersect in complex ways that toxic political rhetoric can’t do justice to.

With OUT, the artist hopes to defiantly challenge homophobia and transphobia. It is in some ways a dance show – but it’s also a “conversation between two bodies,” the publicity material explains, a vividly lit piece of performance art that “reclaims Dancehall and celebrates queerness amongst the bittersweet scent of oranges”.

Inspired by global struggles for LGBTQ+ rights, it also looks at colonial legacy and the complexity of queer Caribbean identity.

It’s “for and about marginalised communities”, Young says – and while allies are more than welcome, “educating” people isn’t the show’s primary intention.

“We are making it for people to come and be able to see themselves,” they added. “It’s not my job to prove to anybody that I have the right to exist.”

OUT was first performed in 2017 when it won the A Place to Dance Brighton Fringe Award and nominated for the 2017 Total Theatre and The Place Award for Dance.

Since then, Young fears things have “regressed” – particularly for those who are neurodiverse or disabled.

Last week, Rishi Sunak voiced fears that “benefits [are] becoming a lifestyle choice,” while work and pensions secretary Mel Stride has described mental health culture as “going too far”. The government has also “tightened” work capability assessments in an attempt to bring down the Treasury’s welfare bill.

A record high of 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness – but presenting these people as “shirkers” is “unbelievably damaging and unhelpful“, Richard Kramer, chief executive of disability charity Sense, told the Big Issue last week.

Meanwhile, the government and right wing media are increasingly hostile towards trans people. Last week, Amnesty International accused the government of “scapegoating” genderqueer people.

“The negative rhetoric by the government about the dangers of so-called gender ideology, healthcare for young trans people, as well as the push against LGBTQ-inclusive sex and relationship education is harmful and extremely damaging,” said Amnesty International UK and Liberty.

The attacks on marginalised communities are all linked, Ray Young says.

“It’s one thing after the other. One week it’s sick note culture and mental health. The next week it’s anti-LGBTQ+ and trans healthcare, the week after that it’s something else,” they said. “Every week there’s an attack on some marginalised community.”

“It is tiring… [but] it also kind of charges me, gives me a fire in my belly to carve out spaces for our community, because if we don’t, nobody else will.”

In such a toxic political environment, art can help people come together, they added.

“We’re stronger together. It’s about supporting each other. It’s about being a community together. It’s about finding your people and being there to support each other. Queer communities rally around each other in times of difficulty… that’s what we have to do.”

“Just because something is different doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

You can find tickets for OUT, playing Thursday 25 & Friday 26 April at Sadler Wells’ Theatre, here.