Thsi was today at the Young Vic and I was very happy to see Alan and Tracey there. Everybody in the business was there from Joanna Lumley to Ian McKellan and even Kevin Spacey of the Old Vic.
If anything has been achieved from the not so polite heckling that went on as the Arts Council chairman was basically accused in a public setting of being decietful and dishonest, and of misappropriated funding.he didnt seem to listen though as the main issue was that no one was told of the impending cuts to theatres, and even worse- in the statistics of the BUSH THEATRE ( under threat) they miscalculated the audience attendance by TWO THIRDS!!!!! The gasps in the audience were horrific.
Equity has been amazing in their launching of this public hanging, where actually the entire auditorium of the Young Vic ( myself included) had a motion set saying we have absolutely no faith whatsoever in the Arts Council as of today.
This event was NOT publicised as it should have been and I was severely disappointed to see few people under 30 there. What people dont realise is that if the twenty or so theatres lose thier licences and theor funding, the next to go are drama school and the such.
The government and the Arts Council are clearly not in favour of text based work ansd have solid support in physical theatre and devised work.
The problem is that the funding is controlled by the government and as a result, the arts are for the first time answerable to the government, which has never happened before. Thsi is how dictatorships begin- when the arts and the press are controlled.
Samuel west made an impassioned plea for the Council to consider the drama schools rearing and grooming young actors and directors. Many began in the Orange Tree and many young playwrights also did.
For all of us and all new grads, this means that jobs will be even scarcer and this is a problem.
I am making a plea on behalf of those in equity and at the meeting that all CCP people MUST MUST MUST get involved in what is happening- the cuts will affect your futures and all the people to come after you as actors. The mass exodus to the States is staggering and if we do not take a stand regional rep will be a thing of the past completely.
We as an acting community need to stand up and be counted for the fact that we are working PROFESSIONALS and have trained and worked to get where we are. I was amazed to see the solidarity there, but the majority of people there were over 40. This is heartbreaking.
I, and Alan and Tracey will no doubt feed back any details of upcoming developments but if aniother meeting happens, PLEASE attempt to make it it possible. The voice of newly grads and young up and coming names in the profession is sorely needed- their decisions affect your future in the business.
Hi Blake
I was sitting opposite you - but I had to run after the meeting so didn't have a chance to say hi - although I did manage to say hi to Alan who was sitting on the same side as me.
An amazing meeting but yes, there were very few people under 30 which is a shame.
I think I was sat behind you Blake. I have now retured home after a three hour journey on the train back to the northwest. I think I was the only one there, from this area and probably one of the youngest there too. I shall say good night, cos Im shattered.
Tracey's comments on the other thread has a terrific synopsis of what happened.
It was great to see such a fantastic turnout. I was also amazed that Roy Hudd came over to speak to me before the 'show'! What an amazing bloke he really is!
It was also good to put 'faces' to 'names'. Thank you all who made themselves known to me! I was a bit lost in the crowd!
The total amount of investment in the Arts is only 2% of the Gross Product of this country.
The return on that investment is far in excess of that by about 500% of investment AND 17.5% VAT on the tickets goes directly to government.
So, in effect, the cost of Theatre in this country pays for itself 300 times over!
I would like someone to explain to me how an unmade bed, or a daub on a wall or a photographic collection returns the same amount?
Your blood is not the only blood that is boiling. All over the country there are people who, even though their funding is secure, are up in arms over this issue.
I have posted below some interesting links to the latest press releases.
These were passed on to me by Martin Brown the communication manager at Equity.
Cheers
TRACEY
At The Times 10 January 2007
Leading actors put arts chief to the sword over cash cuts
The Arts Council faced an unprecedented vote of no confidence yesterday from hundreds of angry actors and directors opposing its decision to terminate the funding of nearly 200 of the nation's companies.
Peter Hewitt, the Arts Council chief executive, was subjected to a torrent of criticism and cries of derision. Kevin Spacey, the Oscar-winning star, gave warning of a revolution and Sir Ian McKellen, one of Britain's finest actors, called the cuts destructive.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article3162575.ece
The Guardian 10 January 2007
Actors boo Arts Council over swingeing cuts
Britain's acting community yesterday declared it had no confidence in the Arts Council England, which is cutting money to nearly 200 groups in the biggest shake-up of arts funding in living memory.
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/funding/story/0,,2238141,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
The Guardian 10 January 2007
Message to the Arts Council: get your act together
Today's stormy meeting between ACE's outgoing chief executive and theatre professionals resulted in a vote of no confidence. Who's going to sort out the mess?
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/theatre/2008/01/for_editors_7.html
The Telegraph 10 January 2007
No confidence' in Arts Council England
Arts Council England (Ace) was plunged into a crisis when 500 of the country's top actors passed an unprecedented vote of no confidence in the organisation over cuts it is making in grants to almost 200 theatres and music companies.
The vote, supported by prominent figures such as Kevin Spacey, Sir Ian McKellen, Felicity Kendal and Joanna Lumley, was taken at a packed meeting at London's Young Vic theatre to discuss the cuts with Peter Hewitt, the council's chief executive.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/10/narts110.xml
The Stage 10 January 2007
Industry leaders pass vote of no confidence in Arts Council England
Arts Council England has been delivered a 'vote of no confidence' at an emergency meeting organised by Equity and attended by leading figures from the UK theatre industry including Ian McKellen, Peter Hall and Kevin Spacey. The meeting, which was held at the Young Vic and attended by ACE chief executive Peter Hewitt, was called in the wake of the arts council's latest spending review, in which almost 200 organisations face the threat of total cuts to their funding.
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/19504/industry-leaders-pass-vote-of-no-confidence
More stories about yesterday's meeting at the Young Vic
They are not withdrawing it. The government set up the quango of the Arts Council England (ACE) to administer the distribution of Arts Funding throughout the country leaving them to decide how the funds would be spent.
Thus the government can avoid having crises like these.
However, since the members of the quango are clueless about what actually constitutes 'Arts' or the impact of their work, the serious consequences of misallocation of funds can be passed off as an 'error' on behalf of 'ACE' and not embarrass the government.
The fact that theatre investment is 'profitable' makes no difference the government, who benefits from a thriving theatre, but can make a difference to the quango since their huge salaries are at stake if they get removed if they make mistakes like this.
Always a pleasure, never a pain!
As a short addendum to that: to get on to a quango you should be proposed by a government official. It is an appointment a bit like the Head of the Environment Agency (another quango).
The head of it was Sir John Harman (Lab Huddersfield) who was elected to Parliament on the ticket of 'I will abolish all quangos as being inefficient and overpaid government lackeys'. When he was deselected as an MP he became the head of the biggest quango in Britain. Good job for him that he failed in his election promise, eh?
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