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DETAILS of a controversial plan to fund a mobile theatre have been unveiled. It is to give a number of marginalised communities said to not normally receive theatre productions the chance to view a high-quality work from Clwyd Theatr Cymru (CTC), the company some commentators dub the un-official National Theatre of Wales. Mold-based CTC has been given £100,000 from the National Assembly from its Arts Outside Cardiff (AoC) scheme. But concerns have been raised because the money accounts for the lion's share of the first year's allocation. Fears have also been expressed that the mobile unit will be sited close to actual theatres, thereby not fulfilling its intention. Some arts practitioners also want an explanation why the award was given on the direct say-so of Culture Minister Alan Pugh with little input from the Arts Council of Wales. Although the Assembly plans to spend £2m on arts outside Cardiff every year, matching its investment in the Wales Millennium Centre, there is only £250,000 available this year, with £100,000 of it going to CTC's mobile theatre plan. Terry Hands, CTC's artistic director, will run the theatre on a model he invented while at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. He says his mobile unit's basic remit is to provide access to the highest quality professional theatre, with a consistency of staging, technical and performing environments, to smaller communities throughout Wales who do not have access to a venue. Four of the leisure centres it will visit are in disadvantaged Communities First areas. As such, Mr Hands says criticism is "not at all well thought out". He said, "We are using that money to put on a good piece of work in places where people don't normally have an opportunity to see it. It's going to play to five different communities in five different locations and people will benefit from it, there's no doubt about it. "I don't think the people who criticise the fact that we've been given this money have thought it through. There's £2m to be given out and we've had £100,000. That money isn't going to stay in Mold - this is money that's being spent in other parts of Wales." Aberystwyth-based Theatre expert Keith Morris carried a debate on the issue on the website Theatre in Wales when the allocation was announced. He says there are several matters surrounding thefunding which require further clarification. "I'd like to know from what element of the AoC scheme is the £100,000 awarded to Clwyd Theatr Cymru's mobile theatre proposal being allocated," said Mr Morris. "Will it be deemed to be drawn form the proportion of the fund earmarked for productions or from the significantly greater amount earmarked for theatre venues?" ACW's chief executive Peter Tyndall said, "ACW invests £1.4m in the theatre's work across Wales. "Our ongoing commitment to the AoC as well as thefuture of English language theatre means that moreand more people willhave the opportunity to experience live theatre." The Culture Minister added, "Clwyd Theatr Cymru has wasted no time in putting its AoC grant from the Assembly to excellent use. The mobile theatre is a brilliant way to bring productions to communities that might otherwise not have ready access to professional theatre, and its Welsh version of Brassed Off is bound to resonate in the former coalfield communities where it will be performed. CTC should certainly not be shy of blowing its own trumpet." |
| western mail arts pages web site: cwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0900entertainment/0050artsnews/page.cfm?objectid=14393617&method=full&siteid=50082 |
| Hannah Jones e-mail: |
Monday, July 5, 2004 |
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