Museum of Austerity

So if the Museum of Austerity is not a show. Then what is it? Think of it rather like an experience with humanity.

When greeted by the hosts at the Young Vic, you are told in detail that this is a mixed-reality experience, limited to ten people at a time. You, the audience, are free to roam and engage with the testimonies as they appear in your headset. This experience is prided on being person-centered, perhaps a direct response to a disability and benefit system that is not. I asked for captions and this was done with ease. There is purposely a large list of accessible options so many different audience members can engage with the work. There are many places to sit and listen, or equally to move aside and listen to the music while taking in the atmosphere.

When walking in the figures appear almost like ghosts through the headset. You will see a woman looking at a form for the job centre, a man who has fallen over in pain while his dog watches. A woman standing on a train platform, a patient in a bed, a man thin next to his fridge. When walking closer, you may hear statements on the importance of cutting benefits from politicians such as past prime ministers, David Cameron or Priti Patel as a transition to the testimony. You may also hear some gentle music composed by Adrian Lee which underscores the entire experience.

These are not easy to listen to either. In fact they are laid plain that these people suffered. Philippa Day is just one of these people. Her testimony is told to us by her sister, Imogen Day. When wearing headphones,I saw the image of a woman, Philippa in Batman PJs,takeaway boxes and her children’s toys on her bed. A worried expression on her face as she reads a Disability Living Allowance form. We are told by her sister how the mismanagement of benefit claims, their negligence and refusal to arrange a home visit for Philippa’s assessment, when it had been raised that Philippa had agoraphobia alongside other disabilities such as diabetes and poor mental health. This was a major factor as to why Philippa took her own life and why her sister fights on her behalf today.

In a time where division seems worse than ever. Often the people who can get forgotten are our most vulnerable. This has been proven by the 2022 report published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found there were 334,327 excess deaths due to austerity between the years of 2012 and 2019. In this post-covid world, we should be reminded of this horror and do all we can to avoid it getting this bad ever again.