Features

Second round of CRF funding from Arts Council England

18 October 2020

The Arts Council has announced the second round of funding in which £76,654,621 of Culture Recovery Fund grants is assigned to 589 organisations.

The Future of Theatre

16 October 2020

Philip Fisher takes a look at how coronavirus has widened the scope of theatre delivery.

Panto Season 2020: Oh Yes It Is!

16 October 2020

Simon Sladen looks forward to Panto Season 2020 and explores how COVID-19 has affected the Industry. (Updated 22/10/20)

Arts Council England First Round Funding

13 October 2020

The top 20 winners and a breakdown by region of the initial distribution of the Arts Council's £825m share of the Cultural Recovery Fund.

Could it be magic?

13 October 2020

The Arts Council-commissioned CEBR report, which attributes an expedited recovery for the cultural sector to government funding, has left National news editor and London reviewer Sandra Giorgetti contemplating the power of magic.

Please Close Us Down!

10 October 2020

Boris Johnson might be the next Feydeau or Frayn, judging by the problems that theatres might suffer under his latest cunning plan.

Saving panto? Huh!

9 October 2020

While a small part of the theatre industry celebrates Operation Sleeping Beauty, Peter Lathan is far more cynical.

Operation Sleeping Beauty: Pantoland's Kiss of Life?

9 October 2020

Simon Sladen reports on the National Lottery initiative to purchase pantomime tickets to seats unable to be sold due to 'social distancing' under Operation Sleeping Beauty.

Parliamentary Debate on Culture Sector 8 October 2020

9 October 2020

The House of Commons debated spending by the Department for Digital, Culture and Media and Sport on support measures for the DCMS sectors during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whodunnit or Didn’t

2 October 2020

Philip Fisher compares and contrasts the entertainment industry's responses to coronavirus in London and New York.

Has Sunak Saved the Theatre? – Not Yet

24 September 2020

Rishi Sunak's latest jobs and loans package offers little comfort for the arts community.

The wisdom of reopening theatres

18 September 2020

Philip Fisher is concerned that running shows at a loss could further damage the finances of theatres that are already struggling.

Pandemic Panto-monium!

17 September 2020

Simon Sladen reports on the latest industry activity ahead of Panto Season 2020 including strategies companies are taking to produce COVID-secure productions. Updated 23/09/20.

Favourite theatres on death row and an extra-terrestrial solution

11 September 2020

Philip Fisher highlights the plight of the Finborough Theatre in London and some of Edinburgh's finest, while remaining cynical about the government's Moonshine project.

A begging letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer

8 September 2020

The DCMS committee has written to Rishi Sunak pleading for help for the arts.

Creatives versus Accountants

4 September 2020

Philip Fisher worries about the future of the industry that we all love.

The day the music dies

30 August 2020

National news editor and London reviewer Sandra Giorgetti takes a look at a recent survey that puts figures on the desperate straits of UK musicians.

A Drop in the Ocean

28 August 2020

Philip Fisher reports on an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and an Arts Council England bailout that will leave the self-employed drowning.

Remembrance of Theatre Past 55–56: The End (Possibly)

28 August 2020

Peter Lathan looks back at a career in theatre which stretches back to the 1960s. Here he describes how his career as an actor and director came to an end and thinks about what lies ahead.

Deadly Theatre—Simon Brett and Charles Paris (with a quick nod to Ngaio Marsh)

21 August 2020

We all need escapism and Philip Fisher might have found the perfect escape in a long series of crime novels with a theatrical setting.