RIOTS - Aftermath: Kids ‘frightened’ - Roundhouse boss Marcus Davey, speaks up for young
Published: 18 August 2011
by TOM FOOT
THE chief executive of the Roundhouse has warned that young people are facing a “massive miscarriage of justice” in the riots backlash.
Marcus Davey (pictured above), who last week celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Chalk Farm playhouse’s re-opening, said he had been horrified by the reaction from the mainstream media and MPs, who only last year were themselves embarrassed by the expenses scandal.
And, in his only interview on the riots, Mr Davey revealed how hundreds of young, disadvantaged people – many from Camden – had penned a series of “prophetic” performance poems forecasting the uprisings.
He said: “Poetry has become a massive thing for young people here. A lot of it is performance poetry and it is saying things powerfully about our society.
“A lot have been quite prophetic about how we need to be listening to young people. They are about how it’s time to change, that society has got to change, and we have got to heal that up somehow.”
The Roundhouse marked five years since its major rennovation with a series of events including a special public installation by the internationally renowned artist Ron Arad.
More than 3,000 under-25s attend free youth projects – some lasting up to 12 weeks – in the Roundhouse each year.
Mr Davey said: “We are trying to make sure all young people come together to learn from each other and work with a great tutor towards an end project.
“If someone doesn’t show up then everyone is let down – so they feel the responsibility. In the media, you’ve had MPs saying none of these kids are taking responsibility. Well we say let’s give them our responsibility – and not just over a couple of days.
“Most of the kids I saw on Monday were frightened. They’ve lost faith in the institutions in society like the probation service or youth service or schools.”
Mr Davey said custodial sentences handed down to rioters had “made society worse” and that politicians were not in a position to comment.
“The bloody MPs in Parliament are not at the suffering end of society. They have a cushion nest in the Commons and Lords. They have tough jobs, but they have gone through an expenses scandal that makes most of us shudder, most of them really leeched off society.
“If guys are going to prison for stealing then these MPs should all have been dealt in the same way.”
He added: “This is the only interview I’ve agreed to – I’ve had a lot of offers. I have used hard words today, when we need to use soft words. People need to be loved and we need to foster hope.”