ACE’s black-led spin

Published Monday 26 September 2005 at 17:10

I am disturbed by the news that Arts Council England, in its boast that it gave £5.5 million to the black theatre sector in 2004/5, has included in that sum the whole of the annual grant of £768,000 awarded to Theatre Royal, Stratford East (News, September 22, page 2).

For half of the year in question I was artistic director of that theatre and our whole revenue grant was certainly not exclusively earmarked for black work. How many more white-led organisations have had their whole grant, or even part of it, attributed to spending on black work, without consultation?

To solve the current, dismaying crisis in black theatre the arts council needs the trust of the black theatre community. Currently there is very little of that available to it, as was evident at the open meeting on the future of black theatre on September 11 at the African Centre.

It will not gain trust if it continues to spin figures in the manner it has made common practice in the last few years.

Philip Hedley

Paramount Court

University Street

London WC1