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2 OCTOBER 31 2024 NEWS ‘Critical’ threat to arts spending as quarter of councils face bankruptcy risk KATIE CHAMBERS One in four councils in England could go bankrupt unless they receive emergency government bailouts in the next two years, a Local Government Association survey has revealed. This precarious situation has been labelled a “critical risk” to the arts in England, for which local authorities remain the single largest funder – despite a £2.3 billion real-terms fall in annual spending on culture and leisure over the past 14 years. Councils have warned that they are being pushed ever closer to the “financial brink” and are appealing to Labour for immediate action to prevent insolvency and more cuts to non-statutory services, including the arts. A quarter of English councils have said they are likely to apply for exceptional financial support in the next two years if they do not receive additional government funding, according to the LGA’s survey. This marks a continued rise in the number of local authorities poised to request emergency bailouts. The LGA, speaking ahead of the Budget, urged chancellor Rachel Reeves to stabilise council finances, including by providing multi-year finance settlements and reviewing the local government funding system. But the LGA also warned that while exceptional financial support can offer temporary relief, it risks saddling already struggling councils with further debt. Campaign for the Arts director Jack Gamble has backed the LGA’s call for immediate action to safeguard council finances, describing their instability as a “critical risk” to the arts. “Local councils are vital public investors in the arts and have a legal duty to provide public libraries,” Gamble told The Stage. “Yet cultural services are among those critically at risk due to the funding crisis in local government.” J A M E S S A M P S O N / S H U T T E R STO C K P E T E R Nottingham theatres have been hit by a 100% cut in council investment in cultural organisations He added that the government needed to take “immediate action to stabilise council finances and protect local access to the arts and culture for everyone”. The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre have labelled the current £54 billion shortfall in local council funding a “serious risk to cultural provision” in England and are demanding the government review public investment in the arts. This funding “black hole” – revealed by a County Councils Network report sent to the government this month – is being fuelled by the soaring cost of social care, children’s services and home-to-school transport, which are expected to make up 83% of the rise in council spending on services by 2030. As a result, councils say they will be left with no choice but to abandon the arts and other non-statutory duties, providing “little more” than care services in a matter of years in order to stay afloat. A total of 18 local councils – just under 6% of the total in England – were given exceptional financial support in February to help balance their books. Several are already providing only minimum services. Many local authorities have already slashed their budgets for the arts, with Nottingham City Council axing 100% of its investment in cultural organisations this year and Birmingham planning 100% cuts next year following a 50% cut this year. Terrorism law CONTINUED FROM FRONT Sites that can hold 800 or more people, known as the “enhanced tier”, will have to undertake additional obligations, including monitoring the building and its immediate vicinity. This could include: “comprehensive security systems”; deterrents such as bag searches, screening individuals or barriers; physical safety blocks such as safety glass; and safeguarding sensitive information such as floor plans to ensure potential attackers would not have access to vital venue details. While theatre leaders have stressed that they are committed to audience safety, they have also said that the law – officially the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – may stretch already cash-strapped venues. Chris Stafford, chief executive of Leicester’s Curve Theatre, told The Stage that while he “welcomes a bill that seeks to strengthen security of public events and venues”, given that it comes “at a time when our businesses continue to be stretched, the resource requirements of this new legislation for theatres like us with a capacity of more than 800 will inevitably put an even greater pressure on our finances.” Jon Gilchrist, artistic director and chief executive of Birmingham Hippodrome, said his venue would do “everything it can to support the roll out of the bill in theatres”. Gilchrist acknowledged the extra administration involved in such an endeavour, calling it “an undertaking that requires an investment of time and finances”, but added that “visitor safety is paramount” and said that the Hippodrome is “already engaging in preparations ahead of the bill being passed”. Introduced in the House of Commons on September 12, the bill is moving through parliament and was last discussed by MPs on October 14. Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre director of membership Phillip Brown told The Stage it was vital that legislators provide assistance to theatres so they can meet the demands of the bill. “We welcome the government commitment in the recent parliamentary debate [to] give time and support to businesses,” he said. “[This] is imperative if theatres are to be able to implement their new obligations.” SOLT and UK Theatre’s work in the domain, including as chair of the Theatre Operator Security Communication Advisory groups, means they are “well placed to work with government to ensure our members understand and can implement any changes to policy, practice or procedure ahead of the bill becoming law”, Brown added. Freelancer crisis CONTINUED FROM FRONT Argent believed they had hoped to. She said: “The costs of keeping a theatre open and building sets has risen steeply. “As a result, there seem to be many more co-productions, which mean fewer opportunities for writers, directors, designers, while offering possibly longer tours to actors and stage managers.” Argent emphasised her sympathy for struggling theatres but reiterated a call to implement strategies for improving freelancers’ working life – including rates of pay that mean fewer people have to juggle jobs to make ends meet, and organisations opening up to creatives beyond their usual collaborators. London-based theatremaker Nastazja Domaradzka said that when beginning her career a decade ago, it was possible to “make your own work, subsidised by whatever side job you had”. But Domaradzka said: “I worry this industry is not honest when it comes to money. I worry we will be left only with artists who come from generational wealth and the array of experiences among theatremakers will be very monolithic.” Possible solutions, she said, included a scheme similar to Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts, a pilot of which is under way. ACE’s study was carried out by independent researchers at the University of Essex and had more than 5,000 responses – 35.5% worked in theatre, 28.8% in opera and music. The first iteration of a study ACE intends to repeat every three years, it found many freelancers reported an inability to cover living expenses and household bills. Many also expressed concern about a “general lack of representation” and advocacy on their behalf, while 70% said they felt support including mentoring, advice and supervision was simply not available to freelancers when needed. Only 43% of freelancers who responded to the study said they would recommend being freelance in the creative cultural sector. ACE chief executive Darren Henley said the challenges of “burnout, of leaving, or for the next generation, of not joining the cultural sector at all, are clear”. He added that ACE had shared the report with “key stakeholders” and was inviting them to work alongside it “to drive positive change”. Laurence Olivier Richard III nose up for auction Items that belonged to Laurence Olivier, including the prosthetic nose he wore as Richard III in the 1955 film that he also directed and produced, are to be sold at auction, writes Katie Chambers. Estimated to be worth £1,500, the nose will be one of about 350 props and personal items from the actor’s Sussex home to be offered for sale by his estate and his widow, fellow celebrated actor Joan Plowright. The auction will be held in Los Angeles in December, and will run live online through Julien’s Auctions in partnership with Turner Classic Movies.
page 3
OCTOBER 31 2024 3 thestage.co.uk/news Olivier statuette returned after Dublin robbery KATIE CHAMBERS Fishamble, the only Irish theatre company to have won an Olivier award, has welcomed the return of its trophy less than a week after it was stolen. The Dublin-based company said it was “delighted” and “relieved” to have the Olivier back on its mantelpiece, but confirmed that a police investigation into the theft was ongoing. The award was stolen from the company’s Great Denmark Street office during a robbery on the weekend of October 19-20. But the Olivier has now been returned following an appeal to the public using #BringLarryBack on social media. “We are delighted to report that the Olivier award taken from the Fishamble office over the weekend has been returned,” the company said in a statement shared with The Stage. “We very much appreciate all the messages of support received and are relieved to have Larry back home in its rightful place on the mantelpiece. “As this is part of a wider and ongoing Gardaí investigation, we will not be making any further comment.” Fishamble was honoured at the 2016 Oliviers with the award for achievement in affiliate theatre for its one-man play Silent, written and performed by Pat Kinevane at London’s Soho Theatre. Fishamble is the only Irish theatre company to have triumphed at the Oliviers in the awards’ 48-year history. Norris: I am not looking to run another theatre KATIE CHAMBERS National Theatre boss Rufus Norris has said he does not intend to run another theatre and will take time to “regenerate” after his departure from the venue in April 2025. He also advocated for greater representation at the NT and beyond, saying that a more diverse cohort of writers “makes the work better”. Speaking on the first episode of podcast The London Theatre Review, Norris, who is stepping down from the National after 10 years at the helm and will be succeeded by Indhu Rubasingham, said: “I don’t have ambitions to run any other theatre. I am leaving it completely open for the moment. “I technically leave on April 1 then come back two weeks later to direct London Road, so I’ll be working as a freelancer under Indhu. Then I am going to take a bit of time off and regenerate.” Reflecting on his tenure, Norris said: “The worst thing was Covid, without a shadow of a doubt. It was horrible.” He added, however, that the solace and determination he found in his colleagues during the pandemic represented the best thing about his time at the National. Norris said increased representation on and off stage was a key achievement of his leadership, as well as the fulfilment of an objective to champion new writing. The two aims are intertwined, Norris explained, “because if you’re bringing in new voices then there’s an opportunity to broaden the artist base, and consequently the staff base and the audience base”. He went on: “We are a national theatre – these are the demographics of the UK and we should represent that because it is fair and just. But for me, underneath it all, there is a profound belief that it just makes the work better. “The reason so many of my predecessors and those they worked with were white, middle-class, well-educated men is that those people had been able to get to a point where they had developed the skills, the contacts and everything else. It is not because they were innately better at it.” He concluded: “Part of our job is to make sure we give those opportunities and level the playing field. And, lo and behold, women seem to be very good at it too.” Fishamble’s Eva Scanlon, Jim Culleton, Gavin Kostick and Laura MacNaughton with the returned Olivier Andrew Lloyd Webber eyes Jamie Lloyd to direct his new musical The Illusionist GEORGIA LUCKHURST Andrew Lloyd Webber is penning a magical romance musical called The Illusionist, planned to be directed by Sunset Boulevard director Jamie Lloyd. The Phantom of the Opera composer hopes to present the production on Broadway and in the West End, with a score he told Deadline will be “operatic” in style. It is “early days”, Lloyd Webber said, adding that while he is not yet sure where the premiere will be, he would like it to be in London. Lloyd, who is currently directing his Sunset Boulevard revival in New York, has already been approached about the show. Screenwriter Chris Terrio is writing the book alongside Webber, with British songwriter Bruno Major also involved in the project, which is now seeking a designer to create its titular illusions. Producer Michael Harrison told Deadline: “Whoever the magic person is, and we don’t know who it is yet, they’ll be heavily involved because it’s very important, obviously, if you’re doing a show called The Illusionist, that there be good illusions.” The musical is to be loosely based on the 2006 film of the same name, which starred Edward Norton as Eisenheim, a magician persecuted for his illusions. Lloyd is also set to direct Evita, one of Lloyd Webber’s first musicals, in London next year. It is not yet known if this will be a reprisal of Lloyd’s 2019 take on the story, staged at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London to critical acclaim. Confirming the Evita production, Lloyd Webber told Billboard: “Working with a director like Jamie, for me, is a wonderful thing, because he can talk from a different perspective than I do. The consequence of that with Sunset Boulevard is that we took the score a lot darker than the original. That is the joy. I’m a collaborator. The most important thing to remember about musical theatre is it’s all about collaboration.”

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2

OCTOBER 31 2024

NEWS

‘Critical’ threat to arts spending as quarter of councils face bankruptcy risk

KATIE CHAMBERS

One in four councils in England could go bankrupt unless they receive emergency government bailouts in the next two years, a Local Government Association survey has revealed.

This precarious situation has been labelled a “critical risk” to the arts in England, for which local authorities remain the single largest funder – despite a £2.3 billion real-terms fall in annual spending on culture and leisure over the past 14 years.

Councils have warned that they are being pushed ever closer to the “financial brink” and are appealing to Labour for immediate action to prevent insolvency and more cuts to non-statutory services, including the arts.

A quarter of English councils have said they are likely to apply for exceptional financial support in the next two years if they do not receive additional government funding, according to the LGA’s survey. This marks a continued rise in the number of local authorities poised to request emergency bailouts.

The LGA, speaking ahead of the Budget, urged chancellor Rachel Reeves to stabilise council finances, including by providing multi-year finance settlements and reviewing the local government funding system.

But the LGA also warned that while exceptional financial support can offer temporary relief, it risks saddling already struggling councils with further debt.

Campaign for the Arts director Jack Gamble has backed the LGA’s call for immediate action to safeguard council finances, describing their instability as a “critical risk” to the arts. “Local councils are vital public investors in the arts and have a legal duty to provide public libraries,” Gamble told The Stage. “Yet cultural services are among those critically at risk due to the funding crisis in local government.”

J A M E S S A M P S O N / S H U T T E R STO C K

P E T E R

Nottingham theatres have been hit by a 100% cut in council investment in cultural organisations

He added that the government needed to take “immediate action to stabilise council finances and protect local access to the arts and culture for everyone”.

The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre have labelled the current £54 billion shortfall in local council funding a “serious risk to cultural provision” in England and are demanding the government review public investment in the arts.

This funding “black hole” – revealed by a County Councils Network report sent to the government this month – is being fuelled by the soaring cost of social care, children’s services and home-to-school transport, which are expected to make up 83% of the rise in council spending on services by 2030.

As a result, councils say they will be left with no choice but to abandon the arts and other non-statutory duties, providing “little more” than care services in a matter of years in order to stay afloat.

A total of 18 local councils – just under 6% of the total in England – were given exceptional financial support in February to help balance their books. Several are already providing only minimum services.

Many local authorities have already slashed their budgets for the arts, with Nottingham City Council axing 100% of its investment in cultural organisations this year and Birmingham planning 100% cuts next year following a 50% cut this year.

Terrorism law

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Sites that can hold 800 or more people, known as the “enhanced tier”, will have to undertake additional obligations, including monitoring the building and its immediate vicinity. This could include: “comprehensive security systems”; deterrents such as bag searches, screening individuals or barriers; physical safety blocks such as safety glass; and safeguarding sensitive information such as floor plans to ensure potential attackers would not have access to vital venue details.

While theatre leaders have stressed that they are committed to audience safety, they have also said that the law – officially the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – may stretch already cash-strapped venues.

Chris Stafford, chief executive of Leicester’s Curve Theatre, told The Stage that while he “welcomes a bill that seeks to strengthen security of public events and venues”, given that it comes “at a time when our businesses continue to be stretched, the resource requirements of this new legislation for theatres like us with a capacity of more than 800 will inevitably put an even greater pressure on our finances.”

Jon Gilchrist, artistic director and chief executive of Birmingham Hippodrome, said his venue would do “everything it can to support the roll out of the bill in theatres”.

Gilchrist acknowledged the extra administration involved in such an endeavour, calling it “an undertaking that requires an investment of time and finances”, but added that “visitor safety is paramount” and said that the Hippodrome is “already engaging in preparations ahead of the bill being passed”.

Introduced in the House of Commons on September 12, the bill is moving through parliament and was last discussed by MPs on October 14.

Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre director of membership Phillip Brown told The Stage it was vital that legislators provide assistance to theatres so they can meet the demands of the bill.

“We welcome the government commitment in the recent parliamentary debate [to] give time and support to businesses,” he said. “[This] is imperative if theatres are to be able to implement their new obligations.”

SOLT and UK Theatre’s work in the domain, including as chair of the Theatre Operator Security Communication Advisory groups, means they are “well placed to work with government to ensure our members understand and can implement any changes to policy, practice or procedure ahead of the bill becoming law”, Brown added.

Freelancer crisis

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Argent believed they had hoped to. She said: “The costs of keeping a theatre open and building sets has risen steeply.

“As a result, there seem to be many more co-productions, which mean fewer opportunities for writers, directors, designers, while offering possibly longer tours to actors and stage managers.”

Argent emphasised her sympathy for struggling theatres but reiterated a call to implement strategies for improving freelancers’ working life – including rates of pay that mean fewer people have to juggle jobs to make ends meet, and organisations opening up to creatives beyond their usual collaborators.

London-based theatremaker Nastazja Domaradzka said that when beginning her career a decade ago, it was possible to “make your own work, subsidised by whatever side job you had”.

But Domaradzka said: “I worry this industry is not honest when it comes to money. I worry we will be left only with artists who come from generational wealth and the array of experiences among theatremakers will be very monolithic.”

Possible solutions, she said, included a scheme similar to Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts, a pilot of which is under way.

ACE’s study was carried out by independent researchers at the University of Essex and had more than 5,000 responses – 35.5% worked in theatre, 28.8% in opera and music.

The first iteration of a study ACE intends to repeat every three years, it found many freelancers reported an inability to cover living expenses and household bills.

Many also expressed concern about a “general lack of representation” and advocacy on their behalf, while 70% said they felt support including mentoring, advice and supervision was simply not available to freelancers when needed.

Only 43% of freelancers who responded to the study said they would recommend being freelance in the creative cultural sector.

ACE chief executive Darren Henley said the challenges of “burnout, of leaving, or for the next generation, of not joining the cultural sector at all, are clear”. He added that ACE had shared the report with “key stakeholders” and was inviting them to work alongside it “to drive positive change”.

Laurence Olivier Richard III nose up for auction

Items that belonged to Laurence Olivier, including the prosthetic nose he wore as Richard III in the 1955 film that he also directed and produced, are to be sold at auction, writes Katie Chambers.

Estimated to be worth £1,500, the nose will be one of about 350 props and personal items from the actor’s Sussex home to be offered for sale by his estate and his widow, fellow celebrated actor Joan Plowright.

The auction will be held in Los Angeles in December, and will run live online through Julien’s Auctions in partnership with Turner Classic Movies.

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