The RSC may have to wait till 2001 for Lottery money to redevelop its Stratford base because of the cap on Lottery money for capital spending on projects of national significance. The cap has been set at £200m for the next eight years, or £25m a year. It is likely that the "almost" approval for the South Bank Centre redevelopment will get its final go-ahead sortly and, as that will require a grant of £75m, it will use up the cash available for the next three years.
American exchange for the Bush
The Bush Theatre is to swap productions with Connecticut's Long Wharf Theatre.. The American theatre's production of David Rabe's Question of Mercy will premiere at the Bush on 22nd April, whilst Joe Penhall's Love and Understanding will be presented in Connecticut in March.
The Broadway hit musical Ragtime will open at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End in spring 1999, according to a report in The Stage. It will follow a limited season of Show Boat, which opens this April.
The Scottish Office has set another standstill budget for the Scottish Arts Council, for the third year running. However SAC has allocated an additional 2.6% to the theatre budget.
An extra grant of £100,000 from the East Riding County Council has saved Hull Truck from the danger of closure. This grant is additional to Hull City's annual grant of £38,850. Yorkshire and Humerside Arts had threatened to withdraw its £170,000 grant if the City Council did not increase its support.
Matched funding blow to Lottery applicants
Two charitable trusts, the John S. Cohen Foundation and the Pilgrim Trust, are to refuse matched funding support for Lottery capital projects. (See this week's feature.)
A new EC directive, which comes into force in December, will outlaw words-only signs in theatres. They will have to be replaced or supplemented by signs which carry a graphic which must be white on green and rectangular.
Closing soon
Closing soon in the West End: