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‘Show us the money, minister!’
Theatre bosses hit back at ‘shameful’ attack on facilities by asking for funding
CULTURE Minister Barbara Follett’s condemnation of facilities at West End venues as “shameful” has caused a backlash from managers in Theatreland.
They have accused the government of breaking promises to restore crumbling venues, calling on Ms Follett to find the money to pay for much-needed improvements.
Ms Follett sparked the row by branding working conditions for actors “shameful” at a conference organised by the Theatres Trust last week.
But Richard Pulford, from the Society of London Theatre, which represents theatre owners and managers, said the government was guilty of hypocrisy, claiming the spectre of the Olympics had scuppered refurbishment proposals.
He said: “It’s all very well for ministers to will the end when they have shown themselves unwilling to will the means. Particularly for smaller theatres, making sufficient profits to pay for substantial capital improvements is almost impossible. We would have hoped the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would be aware of that.”
A report by the Theatres Trust in 2004 identified the need for £250million of investment over a period of 15 years to improve facilities in West End theatres, the majority of which are listed buildings dating back to Victorian and Edwardian times. Theatre owners have always pleaded poverty when it comes to repairs, claiming it is the producers who are making all the money in what has been hailed as a golden age of West End stage. The report failed to convince either the government or the London Development Agency that they should provide the money.
Last week, Ms Follett hit a nerve when she said: “London theatres put on the best shows in the world – marvellous plays, actors, directors and staging. But sometimes the brilliant performances on stage are not matched by the facilities for the audience.
“A ludicrously inadequate supply of toilets, especially for women, seating installed in an age when theatre-goers were considerably shorter than they are today, and overcrowded lobbies can take the shine off an evening’s entertainment – however good it is.
“Sometimes, when you go backstage, the provision is truly shameful. It’s a miracle that not more actors are injured by some of the stairs they have to go down and corridors they have to negotiate.”
The actors union Equity has launched a campaign to improve working conditions in Theatreland following complaints of rats, sewage floods and inadequate facilities. The union is planning to form a working party to carry out a survey of venues to establish the extent of the problems. |
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