'No confidence' after Arts Council cuts

As Amanda Whittington reports, British theatre has delivered a resounding vote of no confidence in Arts Council England.

Over 500 industry professionals packed into the Young Vic on January 9th for a dramatic confrontation with the Chief Executive of Arts Council England (ACE), Peter Hewitt.

The Equity-organised meeting challenged ACE plans to cut funding to 194 arts bodies from April. Among the actors, directors, writers and creative workers present were Sir Ian McKellen, Kevin Spacey, Joanna Lumley, Sian Phillips and Sir Peter Hall.

Although the Treasury has awarded ACE an above-inflation increase for the next three years, up to 37 theatre companies face losing all or part of their grants in April. They include The Bush, The Orange Tree, Exeter Northcott, The Drill Hall, Yvonne Arnauld, Compass Theatre, London Bubble and the National Student Drama Festival.

Organisations were informed of the cuts on December 12th and given just five weeks to appeal. Equity General Secretary Christine Payne spoke of the “total disbelief and anger” following the announcement and criticised the veil of secrecy surrounding it.

“We are extremely concerned about how these decisions are made,” she said. “Who are the judges? What criteria are being used? There appears to be a distinct and perhaps deliberate lack of involvement from professional theatre practitioners in the decisions process.

“Unless Arts Council England not only listens to the concerns of people here today but actually takes action to respond to them then their credibility could be fundamentally and possibly irreparably damaged.”

In response, Peter Hewitt highlighted the “huge growth” in the arts over the last decade and the 7% increase ACE-supported organisations will collectively receive this year. Current proposals recommend a reduction in the theatre portfolio from 233 to 218, which he claimed “does not amount to a cull”.

Hewitt said the ACE Theatre Policy was a “simple strategy” by which funding was awarded to “the best organisations delivering the most exciting work”. Accusations they are not interested in repertory theatre, text-based work or new work were “complete rubbish.

“We’ve given a 9% increase to new writing,” he said, “and we’re bringing in 22 new theatre organisations. There is no evidence theatre is being dismantled.”

Speaking about secrecy, he believed it was “entirely honourable” to respect confidentiality and not publish a list of affected companies. He also vigorously defended ACE’s right to apply judgement and make choices between organisations when awarding funds. This right, he said, was “widely, if silently, supported.”

That support was not evident in questions from the floor.

An impassioned debate saw actor Malcolm Sinclair express a lack of confidence in the individuals making those choices.

Actor Patrick Malahide felt “freedom was under threat from an Arts Council that sees itself as an agent of social change, run by a Government who wants to manipulate our output by control of the purse strings.”

Sam West told how he learned his craft as a director at Bristol Old Vic Theatre, Sheffield Crucible and Chichester, “only one of which is currently open”. He defended the need for new writers learn their trade in smaller theatres and how losing those small spaces “will eventually starve our larger ones to death.”

Eastern Angles' Artistic Director Ivan Cutting, who faces a 50% reduction in funding, spoke of each ACE region having “its own criteria and agenda, so it’s like having eight Arts Councils. If we’d been in any other region, we wouldn’t have been cut.”

Under current proposals, the Bush Theatre stands to lose a grant of £180,000. Artistic Director Josie Rourke revealed they had acquired data used to make that decision under the Freedom of Information Act. Here, she found what she believes are “factual errors and serious mistakes, including the under-recording of our audience by two-thirds.” In the light of this, she called for ACE to halt to the funding process and audit the statistical and financial data of all threatened companies.

Feelings also ran high around the lack of peer involvement in decision-making. When called to name theatre practitioners working with ACE, the beleaguered Hewitt angrily declined. Later, he acknowledged the need to improve peer involvement in the process and said full consideration would be given to all appeals before recommendations go forward.

Director Philip Hedley called for organisations who receive increased funding to stand up for those who lose out. Actress Miriam Karlin then moved a motion of no confidence in Arts Council England, which was unanimously carried.

On behalf of all those present, Christine Payne called for “a thorough review of the process and procedures used by Arts Council England in reaching funding decisions. Until that review is completed, the status quo should apply and the current funding process should cease.”

Amanda Whittington is a playwright and a member of the Guild's Theatre Committee.

Update (17.01.08):

The Arts world has united in a letter to Culture Secretary James Purnell to voice “grave concerns” over the way Arts Council England has handled its recent funding announcement. The letter is written by the National Campaign for the Arts and signed by all the major industry bodies including the Writers' Guild.

Article published 13.01.08