Crisis-hit Bolton Octagon faced new problems last week when it was revealed that the theatre was paying a consultant, who had already recommended cutting in-house productions and making 20 staff redundant, £16,000 to book shows from March to September 2000, equivalent to £400 a day, and that it was intending to appoint a finance manager £18,000 a year for working three days a week. Staff at the theatre are said to be extremely angry.
The RSC's production of Richard III, starring Robert Lindsay, has taken over £1m since it opened at London's Savoy Theatre in January.
The Eileen Anderson Award, sponsored by Central Television, has been won by Bryony Lavery for her play Frozen, about a mother's struggle to come to terms with her daughter's murder.
Unicorn moves to the Pleasance
The Unicorn Children's Theatre is to move from the Arts to the Pleasance in Islington on 9th April. The company is currently carrying out a feasibility study, funded by the National Lottery, into creating a purpose-built Centre for Children's Theatre.