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Sponsoring the YSP
Dateline: 6th October, 2002
Why is the British Theatre Guide sponsoring the York Shakespeare Project?
There are many reasons. First and foremost, it's because we believe
that Shakespeare is important. There is no doubt that he is Britain's
greatest playwright ever. There is little doubt that he is the greatest
playwright ever, anywhere. And yet the majority of people in this country
still see his plays as being inaccessible, difficult, boring. They see
Shakespeare as the symbol of élitism in the arts and in theatre
in particular.
In York a group of ordinary people from all walks of life are joining
up with theatre professionals to present the whole canon of his plays,
and they are prepared to devote the next twenty years to this mammoth
task. This is not the Royal Shakespeare Company or the Royal National
Theatre, which are often perceived as a waste of taxpayers' money which
could be better spent on hospitals and schools.
That alone is deserving of support. Then it is York - the North
of England - the cultural wasteland which many see as stretching from
Potter's Bar (or possibly Watford!), with occasional islands such as
Stratford. But the north has a great tradition of drama and theatre.
York and its neighbour Wakefield kept drama alive during the darkest
period of English cultural history with the Mystery plays.
The York Shakespeare Project is taking back Shakespeare from the clutches
of the cultural and academic élite which has appropriated him
for their own, and are bringing him back to the man in the streets of
York at a price which is affordable. The most expensive seats are £8,
a much more attractive proposition than the £33 for an RSC performance
at Newcastle's Theatre Royal.
Then there's the outreach, the education work, the community involvement,
which is not just available for a few weeks, but for twenty years.
Why are we sponsoring the YSP? How could we not?
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