"ACE needs an extra £100m," says Robinson
The Arts Council of England needs an extra £100m, chairman Gerry Robinson claimed in a speech on Tuesday 28th June. ACE's budget for the current year is £229m (plus £210m of Lottery money), and will increase to £244m next year. However Robinson claims that the increase given by the Labour government is a "deposit".
"That deposit has been of considerable value," he went on, "but it was never the complete answer. And there is no point putting a deposit down if the balance is not then found."
He believes that the arts are "fundamentally under-resourced", and that the situation of theatre is particularly bad, "leading to ridiculously small casts, insanely short rehearsal periods and the inevitable disappearance of risk and innovation."
He promised £25m of the extra money would be devoted to theatre.
Apollo takes over in Sunderland
The Apollo Leisure Group is to take over the programming and day-to-day running of Sunderland's Empire Theatre, it was announced on Wednesday. The theatre's Trust had had discussions with both Apollo and the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and recommended the Apollo offer to the City Council.
The agreement runs for twelve years and the Council will retain ownership of the theatre.
Apollo promises a prgramme based primarily on light entertainment, with one-night stands being a strong feature, but there will continue to be space in the programme for opera, ballet and music theatre.
The Empire, a 2000 seat house, was built in the first decade of the last century and was conceived as a lyric theatre. It became one of the UK's first civic theatres in the late fifties.
The public think the arts are valuable: poll
A recent Mori poll has shown that 78% of people in Britain feel that the arts are valuable, 73% that they should be publicly funded, and 95% would like schoolchildren to have more direct experience of the arts.
Lloyd Webber sued by Cats make-up artist
A New York judge has given Cats make-up artist and designer Candace Carell permission to sue Andrew Lloyd Webber for copyright infringement. Judge Allen Schwartz said Webber is the sole or majority owner of the business that authorised or licensed many of the Cats designs and that much of his personal fortune may have been derived from the musical.
Carell joined the show in 1982 and was paid £130 a week for the following 18 years.
George Devine Award winners announced
This year there are two winners of the George Devine Award for the most promising playwright, presented by the Royal Court. They are Gary Mitchell for The Force of Change and Roy Williams for Lift Off. The award is worth £10,000.
The 100-seater Bush Theatre will go dark for three months this summer for a refurbishment. It closes on 15th July and will reopen in the autumn with its hit Howie the Rookie, just before the play goes on a national tour.
Edinburgh Fringe venue the Famous Spielgeltent will not run this year as director David Bates decided to remain in Australia after a serious family illness. It is said that there was also a disagreement with the City Council over the rent for the site next to the Scott Monument. The council is reported to have wanted to increase it from £7,000 to £20,000.
The Spiegeltent is a music venue. Some acts have already found alternative venues - Craig Charles' band will now play at the Pleasance - but others may not be able to.
ACE has made grants totalling almost £5m under its new touring programme. Amongst the recipients are Northern Broadsides for their production of Ted Hughes' version of Euripides' Alcestis, and the RSC for their ten-play epic Tantalus. The RSC will receive £460,000.