A row has broken out over the decision of the Ballymena (Country Antrim) council, the Northern Ireland hometown of Liam Neeson, to grant him the freedom of the town. The Democratic Unionist Party, whose leader the Rev Ian Paisley is MP for the constituency, has objected, claiming that he has "vilified" both the town and "the protestant people."
Neeson, a Catholic, said in an interview that, as a child, he felt like a "second class citizen" during the Protestant celebrations on 12th July over what he described as "some bloody obscure war where some bloody Catholic king was defeated by some bloody Dutch king who was Protestant."
The decision was attacked by DUP Councillor Morris Mills who said, "He has questioned the celebration of the 12th of July. That to us is a very important event as far as Protestantism is concerned. Someone expressing such words as that, I don't think could be referred to as one of the leading sons of Ballymena."
The DUP also expressed outrage that the honour should be offered to Neeson and not to Ian Paisley.
Charles Gray, best known for playing Ernst Stavros Blofeld in the James Bond movies but whose stage and screen career was extensive, has died at the age of 71. He died in the Brompton Hospital in London.
Didn't enjoy it? Have another ticket
The Bloomsbury Theatre has launched the trial of a new ticket scheme. For twelve weeks, beginning this month, the theatre will give a free ticket for another show in the same season to any customer who did not enjoy a performance.
According to manager Michael Freeman, the idea is to encourage people to attend shows by lesser known companies or productions which are unknown or experimental. "Buying a ticket to see a lesser-known company or production carries a risk for the customer," he says. The theatre is so confident of the quality of the product they are offering, that they have introduced this scheme to give "this encouragement to audiences to try something new."
West Midlands Arts venture capital
The West Midlands is to pilot of new arts venture capital scheme, the Creative Advantage Fund, to kick-start innovative arts projects. With a budget of £1.3m, the scheme will invest up to £130,000 in projects and will then sell its shares when the projects reach a suitable profit level. The money from the sale of shares will then be returned to the fund for further investment. It is expected that the fund will invest around £5 in a ten-year period.
New education department for Richmond Theatre
The Richmond Theatre has opened a new education department. Set up by new managers, the Ambassador Theatre Group, one vent has already taken place and two more are planned for April, a workshop with the City of London Ballet (1st April) and a Pride and Prejudice masterclass on 12th April.