Disabled actor, singer, writer, and composer Renu Arora has taken to Instagram with an open letter to her local MP after her Access to Work support was ‘abruptly' cut by 80% at a ‘critical moment' for her prize-winning musical, which the artist says has ‘killed the work'.
The decision comes as Arora’s immersive and accessible show, The Burgundy Book, which centers on a near-death experience in 2017 when she was hit by a bus and dragged under its wheel, won the Peggy Ramsay award and futher Arts Council England investment for its technical development.
The open letter has been signed by the creative team for the first phase of development of The Burgundy Book which includes director Erica Whyman OBE (former Acting Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company), and dramaturgy by Sita Brahmachari (Malorie Blackman Impact Prize Winner 2025 and Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner). Music consultancy has been provided by Marc Teitler (The Magician’s Elephant, RSC; The Grinning Man, Bristol Old Vic). Overseeing the project’s digital integration is Technology Lead Piers Leigh (National Geographic, Netflix, BBC) and lecturer in Cinematography at the University of Bristol.
They are joined in support by Jenny Sealey MBE, Artistic Director of Graeae, who also experienced Access to Work cuts earlier this year before successfully appealing to have them reinstated.
The team say that Arora's Access to Work support – deemed vital infrastructure designed to level the playing field for disabled professionals – has been subject to an ‘administrative error' by the DWP, where Arora now has an ‘eight-month wait' to appeal.
Over a 20-year career, Arora has starred as Madame LaVaughn in the RSC's post-pandemic musical The Magician’s Elephant, alongside work with the BBC, the Southbank Centre, Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Literary Fund, spanning acting, singing, writing and composing.
Arora said: “As a seventeen-year-old South Asian girl in Wales, I dreamed of entering an industry I had no access to. The door was small, but the dream was big. I wanted my voice to matter. Note by note, year after year, I have built a career that is just… lush. That seventeen-year-old who used to read The Stage, was featured in it. My name, my photo, my work – lighting up the digital sky. ‘Renu Arora to pen show about near-death experience thanks to Peggy Ramsay award.'”
“But what a difference a season makes. Today, my access support was cut by 80 percent. The ‘beige' bureaucracies of Access to Work are the essential heavy lifting required to carry the administrative and physical weight of existing in an industry not built for disabled people.”
“Despite the glory of winning the Peggy Ramsay Award and receiving Arts Council investment to create The Burgundy Book – a groundbreaking digitally immersive musical of my near-death experience – Access to Work, which exists to enable disabled artists to work, has killed the work and actively dis-abled me. I have survived so much to get here. The Burgundy Book came from the moment I nearly died. It came from the future I did not get to see. I am trying to build that future, but I cannot build it alone.”
Erica Whyman OBE said: “These monstrous cuts to Renu's Access To Work provision will mean that she cannot work – and that itself is outrageous. The fact that she is a skilled, expert and experienced creative who was poised to fulfill on the enormous promise of her piece The Burgundy Book compounds that outrage. The Arts Council had recently recognised that we are at a crunch point in the project and had supported us to deliver a unique and groundbreaking piece of storytelling. I have known Renu since she starred in The Magician's Elephant at the RSC, and The Burgundy Book is a profoundly moving and transformative story which has been a privilege to work on. This decision directly jeopardises that work, deprives the world of an invaluable voice and has a devastating impact on Renu herself.’’
Sita Brahmachari said: “The impact of this loss for Renu's excellent work as an award-winning disabled performer, writer and composer with a prestigious and celebrated career, will be catastrophic at a time when her star is shining. It will also be catastrophic for the industry if we lose the vital voices that give us unique insight into today's world. This heartless cut in access support symbolises the slamming of the door on some of our most talented artists. We can't let this happen.”
Marc Teitler said: “I first had the pleasure of working with Renu when she played a leading role in the world premiere of my musical The Magician’s Elephant at the Royal Shakespeare Company. I would often hear audience members remark that Madame LaVaughn was their favourite character, a testament to the humanity, humour and depth that Renu brought to the role. Renu is one of the most courageous artists I know. Despite the immense challenges she has faced, Renu has remained determined to change perceptions of disability and to articulate what it means to have your life turned completely upside down.”
“Access support is not a luxury. It allows exceptional disabled artists to contribute fully to cultural life. To jeopardise Renu’s work by removing the support that enables her to create is not only devastating for Renu personally, it is an enormous loss for our entire cultural sector and for the many many people who need to hear the story that Renu is telling.”
Piers Leigh said: “These devastating cuts are causing active harm to an established artist who is shaping a unique voice and viewpoint. The Arts Council investment would allow Renu to create a genuinely new immersive theatrical experience, working with emerging technologies in bold and original ways. The cut to Renu's Access to Work funding will halt her work and leave her, unacceptably, unable to realise the full potential of this groundbreaking project.’’
Jenny Sealey MBE, Artistic Director of Graeae, said: “The brutal cuts to Renu Arora’s Access to Work are an infringement of her human rights. The creative industry is being severely impacted by the loss of disabled artists' voices and presence because people are no longer able to work due to these cuts. Renu has an incredible track record and is a hugely significant part of the industry. Her access must be reinstated in full with proper rates of pay for support workers. This travesty must end.’’
The Burgundy Book’s development is currently supported by Arts Council England, the Peggy Ramsay Foundation, artsdepot and the Unity Theatre Trust.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We will look into this case and work to resolve any issues on receipt of a reconsideration request, as per the usual process.”
“Access to Work is a lifeline for disabled people and those with health conditions, helping them to start and stay in work, but demand for the scheme has grown significantly and the number of people supported has nearly doubled in five years.”
“We know from employee and employer feedback that we inherited issues in the scheme, which is why we’re working with disabled people and their organisations to improve it.”
