While Tabard is on the subject of missives purporting to be from somebody they are not, we’d like to share with you a ‘press release’ that passed across The Stage’s desks last week claiming to be from Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre.
In it, Hytner supposedly sets out his desire to launch a debate about the ethics of arts sponsorship - revolving around whether it was right and proper that the National should be accepting money from the oil company Shell.
In the release, Hytner says: “For some time now, we have been very grateful to receive financial support from various companies whose vision has been matched only by their resources. It has worked very well - we have been able to continue our work, despite the haemorrhaging of public funds away from the arts and other essential services and towards unnecessary wars to secure future reserves of oil. These companies have considered it prudent to ally themselves to prestigious cultural institutions, and to allow a little kudos to rub off on them.
“Our corporate supporters may have ‘reputational issues’ which cause some to question whether they belong at the National at all. But they may have sympathisers within the building who might say ‘This theatre cherishes an autonomy that allows it to push the creative envelope in whichever direction it wishes, and sometimes to pose troubling questions about life, death and everything in between in the 21st century. Is that worth sacrificing?’
“However, rather than ignore these potential brickbats, and to add to our impressive existing energy-saving initiatives, we have decided to take the bull by the horns…We are extremely grateful to Shell for its support, but we would also like a planet to live, love and act on in the years to come. For that reason, we hope this production of Oedipus [currently on stage at the National and sponsored by Shell] - as well as stimulating, shocking and moving audiences - will help open up a space where we can talk about the role that oil, and oil companies, play in maintaining a western way of life that appears to be having toxic impacts across the board…
“We think we are the first major cultural institution to call for a public debate about the ethical and climatic impacts of its financial relationships, and we hope that we will soon be able to join with the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Opera House, Tate Galleries, National Gallery, Science Museum, British Museum, National Maritime Museum and Natural History Museum (all at least for the moment recipients of funding from BP, Shell or both) in launching a campaign for public funds to be diverted from the UK’s vast military budget towards the public good, allowing us to bid farewell to some of our more controversial corporate sponsors.”
It all sounds rather unlikely and the truth of the matter is, of course, that Hytner didn’t say any of this. The release is a spoof, apparently engineered by a lobby group. Although, exactly what they were trying to achieve - other than the NT potentially losing a lucrative sponsorship deal - is not 100% clear.
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