British Theatre News
News Index
Dateline: 13th December, 1998
NT pay anger
The National Theatre has imposed a pay settlement of 3% on its 220 members of BECTU more than two months after pay negotiations broke down. General manager Maggie Whitlum said that this was an interim pay rise, offered as a "gesture of goodwill" but BECTU members are angry because management at the National were awarded a 3.5% rise.
No Jerwood influence on Royal Court work
The Jerwood Foundation, which recently gave the Royal Court £3m, conditional on adding the Jerwood name to the Court's two theatres, has promised that there will be no attempt on their part to influence artistic policy in any way.
No Scottish National Theatre
A Scottish National Theatre would waste limited funds available, Scottish Arts Council chairman Magnus Linklater has said. Support for existing companies producing good work is, he thinks, the best option, rather than creating "something that might become a white elephant".
Joint marketing scheme for Edinburgh Festivals
The Edinburgh Fringe office will sell tickets for all eight festivals in the city,
and will remain open for a fourth week in order to do so, director Hilary String
announced after a meeting called by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh to try to sort
out the confusion caused by the different festival dates.