The Stage

Whiting family attacks ‘rude’ ACE over funding withdrawal

Published Tuesday 21 November 2006 at 12:30 by Nuala Calvi

John Whiting’s daughter has accused Arts Council England of rudeness after it failed to inform his family that it would be withdrawing support for the playwriting award set up in his name.

Cathi Whiting and her relatives found out through the internet that ACE had decided it would no longer fund or administer the John Whiting Award, following the restructuring of its national office.

She has now written a letter of complaint to chief executive Peter Hewitt, reminding him that her father served on ACE’s drama board for eight years and asking him to reverse the decision on the grounds that it will have a negative impact on new writing in Britain.

Whiting told The Stage: “The arts council has not appeared to find it necessary to inform the family or the agents that represent the work of John Whiting.

“I’m asking them to reconsider and, if not, to tell me what else they are going to do to ensure that it continues. This award is a small but important encouragement to emerging playwrights and the roll call of previous winners is not insignificant.”

Whiting has written to all the award’s previous recipients, who include Tom Stoppard, David Edgar, Edward Bond, Wole Soyinka and Tanika Gupta, asking them to join her in putting pressure on ACE to reinstate the award.

David Rudkin, who won in 1975, commented: “The arts council’s decision is very short-sighted and an insult to the memory of a man who truly was a pioneer of the new English drama.”

The John Whiting Award, set up in 1965, is one of three new writing accolades which ACE has recently decided to end its association with, along with the Children’s and Meyer Whitworth awards.

A spokesman for ACE said it could not comment until it had replied privately to Cathi Whiting’s letter.