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Dateline: 8th December, 2002 RNT Up, RSC Down Both the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company published their annual accounts this week. Thanks mainly to the success of its two musicals, My Fair Lady and South Pacific, during the year, the National was able to turn last year's £626,000 loss into a surplus of £99,000. The news from Stratford, however, was nowhere near as encouraging, with the RSC's deficit increasing by £1m to almost £2.5m. The increase in the RSC's loss has been predicted for some time, because of the costs involved in the cancellation of the Barbican relationship. However, as Lord Alexander, the RSC chairman, admits in his introduction to the report, the decision to have a more migratory presence in the capital also had a significant effect on income. The Roundhouse season, which he describes as an artistic success, did, he says, attract a younger audience but the company's core London audience was not tempted and so box office takings were well down. "We are undoubtedly wiser from our experience of the last 12 months," he admits, and suggested that the company will settle down in one London home. "I think in the future the RSC will also need a regular home in London," he said. Further controversy is expected when, in the middle of the coming year, the RSC announces what its plans will be for its Stratford home, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, another subject which has caused dissension both inside the company and among its supporters. The National's year has not been without its controversies and there are still those who wonder about the propriety of the national company aiming at the commercial market. Whether the company's profitability will silence these critics remains to be seen, for the argument is ideological rather than financial. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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