Memorandum submitted by the Royal Society
of Arts
We wish to express our support for theatre development
at regional level, and our belief in its importance for the cultural
life of localities.
The Royal Society of Arts, established in 1751
for the encouragement of arts, manufacturing and commerce, has
recently celebrated its 250th anniversary. As part of that celebration,
it has drawn up a manifesto of five aims. Three have a bearing
upon the importance of regional theatre development, namely the
encouragement of enterprise, the fostering of resilient communities
and the development of a capable population.
Members of the RSA in the East Midlands have
a close interest in regional theatres and some considerable involvement
in their activities. For example, a group made a recent visit
to the Derby Playhouse. They discovered there a powerful commitment
to enterprise, resilience, and capability. A new generation of
theatregoers is being created through community involvement, not
least among the young and disadvantaged sectors of the East Midlands
population. At the same time, many people are being attracted
by the breadth and depth of the programme of performances offered,
which are being created in house rather than bought in from touring
companies.
In its consideration of theatre development,
the CMS Committee has set down a number of issues it intends to
explore. One incorporates a reference to theatre as a genre within
the cultural life of the regions. Amen to that. But if regional
theatres are to make an impact upon local culture, the allocation
of funds by the Arts Council, or by any other body charged with
responsibility for supporting regional theatres, must extend beyond
historicity as a yardstick.
It is said of schools that reputation, good
or bad, falls several years behind performance. The same is often
true of that other powerful medium of education we call the theatre.
That being so, it is important that deployment of funds be more
equitable and transparent than sometimes seems the case at present.
The RSA urges the CMS Committee to turn its mind to the establishment
of criteria for the award of grants appropriate for the promotion
of best regional theatre in this day and age.
Twenty-five years ago, the great theatre critic
Kenneth Tynan observed that a good critic is one who perceives
what is happening in the theatre of his time and a great critic
is one who also perceives what is not happening but ought to be.
Both gradations of performance in the world of the critic require
that theatre directors with vision are to be encouraged rather
more than those depending on past reputation or outdated assumptions.
The RSA is committed to the visionary approach
across the range of its interests, as its manifesto pledges indicate.
It urges the CMS Committee to adopt the same approach to the task
it has set itself.
13 January 2005
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