Malignant state control creeping into theatre, Equity told
In a slashing attack on the Boyden Report, university lecturer in Arts Administration John Pick told last week's Equity conference on provincial funding that the present system is "looking more and more like what happened in the Soviet Union."
"They stuff the institutions with their people," he went on.
He warned that we must be on our guard against "ther kind of bleary history written in this thing" which, he said, pretends that the theatre was "never any good until the state got involved."
There are no arts practitioners on the new Arts Council of Northern Ireland board, the union's Northern Ireland councillor Eleanor Methven told last week's Equity conference. The board, which will control the Council for the next three years from 1st March, is made up of academics, voluntary workers and local authority officials.
Equity NI organiser Drew MacFarlane said that it "beggars belief" and called the make-up of the board "outrageous and a disgrace."
Government sits on the fence over the Robinson Report
Arts minster Alan Howarth, speaking at the Equity conference, denied that the government intended to sideline the Robinson Report on creativity in education but failed to say that it would be implemented. He said that Education Secretary David Blunkett has recommended that the National Curriculum Authority should "look again at ways to encourage creativity in education."
Funding should be short term, claims Nuffield director
Patrick Sandford, director of the Nuffield Theatre, told the Equity conference that arts funding should be aimed at actors, directors and basic production costs, not buildings. "If a city wants a building," he said, "let the city pay for it."
Welsh new writing funding cut by £90,000
The Arts Council of Wales has announced that it will fund only one new-writing company and awarded the contract to Dalier Sylw. It had previously funded two companies, Dalier Sylw (working in Welsh) and Made in Wales (working in English) in the sum of £260,000. Now Dalier Sylw is to work in both languages and will receive grant aid of £170,000. The other company applying for the franchise was the Sherman Theatre.
Jeff Teare, artistic director of Made in Wales, is to launch an appeal.
EU to make provision for bigger bums?
The European Union's standardisation's seating sub-committee is considering setting a minimum width of 500mm for seats in venues such as theatres, which would create headaches for many theatre managers, especially in older West End theatres where seats are very much narrower.
Although this worries theatre managers, the public will be pleased: a revent MORI poll showed that poor seating and lack of leg room were among the reasons people do not go to theatre more often.
The Theatre Royal, Newcastle, has what are probably the widest seats in the UK - 580mm - whilst the newly re-opened Royal Court's seats are 520mm but have adjustable arm-rests, like seats on aircraft.
The Green Room Club, in London's Adam Street, has been given 28 days to vacate the premises after the landlord, Geoffrey Minter of Benthos Ltd, succeeded in his attempt to evict the club in a country court hearing.