Bringing Down the House

Olivia Turnbull

Description

Between 1979 and 1997, a quarter of Britain’s regional theaters closed their doors forever. Those that survived found themselves constantly on the brink, forced to radically reduce their programs and shut down for extended periods. Bringing Down the House examines how and why this crisis occurred, from the British government’s scant regard for the arts after World War II to the onset of Thatcherism and its long-lasting effects on the theater industry. This timely read for theater and cultural history scholars unearths a catalog of recurring problems that ensured the fragility of the British regional stage.

 

Sujets

• Maison
• Maison
• Performing Arts
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Idioma inglés
• Idioma galés
• Theatre
• General officer
• Irish
• English
• Great Britain
• General
• European
• Welsh
• Scottish
• Musique irlandaise
• Anglais
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 14 mai 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781841502663
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

s B R I Ng I Ng D ow N ThE H o U s e ThE CrîSîS în Brîtaîn’S REGîOnal ThEatrES By olîvîa Turnbull

BEtWEEn 1979 and 1997 OvEr a quartEr OF Brîtaîn’S rEGîOnal thEatrES clOSEd dOWn. ThOSE that SurvîvEd FOund thEmSElvES cOnStantly On thE brînk, FOrcEd tO rEducE thEîr prOGrammES radîcally and tO GO dark FOr ExtEndEd pErîOdS OF tîmE. Bringing Down the House: The Crisis in Britain’s Regional TheatresdElvES întO hOW and Why thîS crîSîS OccurrEd, and ExamînES thE lOnG-tErm EfEctS On Brîtaîn’S thEatrE înduStry by rEvEalînG prOblEmS that ExtEnd bEyOnd thE COnSErvatîvE GOvErnmEnt’S Scant rEGard FOr thE artS, rîGht back tO thE sEcOnd wOrld war.

By prObînG thE hîStOry OF rEGîOnal thEatrES FrOm thE întrOductîOn OF StatE FundînG, Turnbull unEarthS a catalOGuE OF rEcurrînG prOblEmS that EnSurEd thE Fabrîc OF BrîtîSh thEatrE WaS hîStOrîcally FraGîlE. BEtWEEn thE FOundatîOn OF thE ArtS COuncîl în 1945 and thE COnSErvatîvES’ vîctOry în 1979, unrESOlvEd îSSuES abOut thE naturE OF rEGîOnal thEatrE and thE baSîS FOr allOcatînG FundS madE ît dîicult FOr thEatrES tO adapt SuccESSFully tO chanGînG tîmES. Turnbull ExplOrES Why thEatrES WErE SO îll EquîppEd tO dEal Wîth ThatchErîSm and aSkS What, îF anythînG, WaS dOnE undEr Blaîr tO addrESS thE SîtuatîOn. An împOrtant and tîmEly rEad FOr thEatrE and cultural hîStOry SchOlarS alîkE,Bringing Down the HouseîntErrOGatES thE hîStOry and pOlîtîcS OF rEGîOnal thEatrE.

olîvîa Turnbull îS a sEnîOr LEcturEr în Drama studîES at Bath spa UnîvErSîty. HEr rESEarch întErEStS încludE cOntEmpOrary BrîtîSh and AmErîcan thEatrE, vErbatîm, SîtE SpEcîïc, and ExpErîmEntal pErFOrmancE practîcES. s

ISBN 978-1-84150-208-3

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TURNBULL

B R I N g I N g D o w N

T hE H o U s e

Bringing Down the House The Crisis in Britain’s Regional Theatres

Bringing Down the House The Crisis in Britain’s Regional Theatres

Olivia Turnbull

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First Pub lishe d in the UK in 2 0 0 8 b y Intellect Bo o ks, The Mill, Parnall Ro a d, Fishpo nds, Bristo l, BS1 6 3 JG , UK

First p ub lishe d in the USA in 2 0 0 8 b y Intellect Bo o ks, The University o f C hica g o Press, 1 4 2 7 E. 6 0 th Street, C hica g o , IL 6 0 6 3 7 , USA

C o p yrig ht© 2 0 0 8 Inte lle c t Ltd

All rig hts re se rve d . No p a rt o f this p ub lic a tio n m a y b e re p ro d uc e d , sto re d in a re trie va l syste m, o r tra nsmitte d, in a ny fo rm o r b y a ny me a ns, e le ctro nic, me cha nica l, p ho to co p ying , re co rd ing , o r o the rwise , witho ut written permissio n.

A ca ta lo g ue re co rd fo r this b o o k is a va ila b le fro m the British Lib ra ry.

C o ve r De sig n: G a b rie l So lo mo ns C o p y Ed ito r: Ho lly Sp ra d ling Typesetting : Mac Style, Beverley, E. Yo rkshire

ISBN 9 7 8 1 8 4 1 5 0 2 1 1 3

EISBN 9 7 8 1 8 4 1 5 0 2 6 5 6

Printed and bo und by G utenberg Press, Malta.

C ONTENTS

Acknowledgments Introduction

Part One: The Buildup

Chapter 1Unsteady Foundations and tHe Post-War Cultural Unsettlement THe

Chapter 2Funding, Multiple Problems Plural

Part Two: The Crisis

Chapter 3 THatcHer Gets DoWn to Business

Chapter 4 Major Dramas

Part Three: Casualties and Survivors

Chapter 5 Salisbury PlayHouse

Chapter 6 THorndike THeatre, LeatHerHead

Chapter 7THeatre, FarnHam Redgrave

Chapter 8Arnaud THeatre, Guildford Yvonne

Chapter 9 Merseyside Everyman THeatre and Liverpool PlayHouse

7 9

15

17

47

67

69

87

111

113

129

145

157

167

6 | BRINGING DOwN ThE hOUSE

Chapter 10THeatre harrogate

Part Four: The Legacy

Chapter 11 Tony’s Council: artful or armless?

References Index

187

197

199

221 229

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

On tHe long road to publication, tHe many friends, colleagues and professionals WHo Have kindly provided information, suggestions and inspiration are far too numerous to mention Here. It goes WitHout saying tHat my gratitude to tHem is immense. I Would, HoWever, particularly like to mention tHose very busy practitioners, tHe pressures of WHose Workload, documented Here, need no furtHer comment, but WHo nevertHeless kindly gave up tHeir time to talk to me about tHeir experiences. I Would also like to extend my appreciation to my advisers at Tufts University, WHo Helped oversee tHe doctorate tHat provided tHe foundation for tHis Work, and to my editors at Intellect, Melanie harrison and Sam King, for tHeir sympatHy and Humour during tHe long Haul. Above all, my many, many tHanks go to my mum for Her unWavering encouragement, patience and Help WitH tHis Work, sometHing tHat Went far above and beyond anytHing Words can describe. And equally to my dad, for very sWeetly providing tHe mucH needed support for tHe support. witHout tHem, tHere is a distinct possibility tHat tHis book Would still just be a pile of notes collecting dust in tHe corner.

I NTRODUCTION

Working in British Theatre today feels like working in a certain hotel in Scarborough. We 1 are all wondering which one of us will go over the cliff next.

In December 2007, a cloud descended over tHe nation’s tHeatre community as tHe Arts Council announced a cHange in policy tHat Would see its grants to tHirty-seven tHeatre companies cut or WitHdraWn. Amongst tHem, four of tHe nation’s regional producing Houses Were earmarked to lose tHeir entire funding, and predictions for tHeir futures Were gloomy. A tHreat to regional tHeatres Was Widely perceived as a tHreat to tHeatre across tHe nation, for tHey Had long been recognized as tHe bedrock of tHe art form in Britain and tHe training ground for many of tHe country’s most celebrated practitioners. Despite a Widespread recognition tHat tHe Arts Council Was long overdue for a retHink, and tHat many companies benefited substantially from tHe cHanges, tHe announcement caused an outcry tHe likes of WHicH Had not been Heard for a decade and a public meeting WitH tHe tHeatre community at tHe Old Vic resulted in a vote of no confidence. Six montHs earlier, outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair Had stood on a platform in tHe Tate Modern and announced tHat Britain Was experiencing a ‘golden age’ for tHe arts, tHe implication being tHat tHe state of tHe arts Was a far cry from tHe dark days under tHe previous government. If true, tHis migHt go some Way in explaining tHe extent of tHe anger from tHeatre practitioners tHat greeted tHe Arts Council’s proposed cuts. THe previous regime under tHe Conservatives Had produced an era dominated by loW levels of funding, bureaucracy and political infigHting. For regional tHeatres, it Had meant a prolonged period of crisis WHere robbing Peter to pay Paul to stay afloat Had been very mucH tHe order of tHe day. For many, evidence tHat sucH problems Had not, in fact, been laid to rest Was apparently too mucH to bear.

During tHe Conservative Party’s eigHteen-year period in government betWeen 1979 and 1997, tHe number of regional producing tHeatres operating in Britain fell by a quarter. wHen tHe Tories finally left office in 1997, tHe remaining forty-five playHouses, referred to as producing tHeatres because tHey staged tHeir oWn sHoWs ratHer tHan receiving toured-in productions, Were carrying a combined deficit of £6 million, a sum tHat exceeded tHeir collective annual subsidy.