When I started out as a theatre critic in the early 1980s, there were very few black or Asian actors on our stages and, with the exception of Josette Simon, almost none working with a national company such as the RSC. Times have changed: we now have no shortage of talented and well-trained black and Asian actors competing for roles on major stages, and making a major contribution to British acting. But what about the UK's many East Asian actors? Why haven't they benefited in the same way?



It was a question raised last month at Opening the Door, an Open Space event at the Young Vic in London. It came about in response to the storm that blew up late last year when there were protests from British East Asian actors that only three actors of East Asian heritage were cast in the RSC's ensemble to perform three plays including a new version of The Orphan of Zhao, a 4th-century work often called the "Chinese Hamlet". The RSC released a statement acknowledging that there was an issue that needed to be examined.

One of the great things about the meeting was the range of people present, from actors to casting directors from the national companies, directors of major reps and touring companies and representatives from drama schools.

Will it be easy to change perceptions? Will we suddenly see more East Asian actors on stage? Probably not – it has taken 30 years for black actors to become part of the theatrical landscape and there are still plenty of glass ceilings that need shattering. But what came out of the discussion was the need for greater visibility; for East Asian actors to make their own opportunities through writing and production; for an end to tokenistic typecasting of East Asian actors as foreigners or Chinese takeaway servers and finally for greater access to training.

All are connected. The number of East Asian actors entering drama schools is low, and rises in tuition fees are not likely to help. Do so few go to drama school because they don't get past the audition stage, because they can't see a career for themselves or because their parents steer them into other professions? How do you actively create access pathways and, as numbers increase, encourage agents to put Eastern Asian actors forward not just for racially specific roles, but all types of roles?

There were discussions around quotas and what more could be done to ease the situation, including the suggestion that there should be ethnic monitoring of auditions, and more support from theatres in developing British East Asian writers and theatre companies. The literary managers of several leading theatres and companies expressed their interest in receiving such works. It's only a start, but as one participant tweeted during the day: "Being heard is a heady experience."

At least the door is now ajar, and the RSC and other companies are likely to think more deeply about their casting policies. But the real work is yet to be done: finding how to keep the door propped open so that over the next decade we will see a flood of British East Asian actors pouring through it and on to our stages.