Bush Theatre faces cuts

Published Friday 4 January 2008 at 15:00 by Alistair Smith

West London’s Bush Theatre, which has launched numerous West End transfers and hosted performers such as Bob Hoskins, Alan Rickman and Victoria Wood, has emerged as the latest victim of Arts Council England’s spending review.

The venue is threatened with a £180,000 cut to its £480,000 grant. Officials at The Bush have been told that the reduction is due to the low number of people able to watch shows at the theatre, which only seats 80.

However, last season’s production of Elling - which featured Life on Mars actor John Simm - transferred to the West End and Whipping it Up ran both in the West End and on tour.

The venue is also considered a breeding ground for young playwriting talent and has previously premiered work by Stephen Poliakoff, Conor McPherson and David Eldridge, among others.

An ACE spokesperson said that its decision to reduce funding was linked to the Bush’s failure to find a new venue. The spokesperson commented: “The need for the Bush to consider finding a fit for purpose venue has been identified since 2004 and is an issue being addressed through the organisation’s own business planning. In this context, we have raised concerns about the organisation’s ability to deliver adequate value against our current level of investment. In our judgment, the proposal to reduce funding to the Bush by 35% over the next three years is appropriate to their planned activity, and is in line with other theatre organisations working on the same scale.

“This is not a final decision. The Bush is entitled to submit a response to our regional council outlining why they consider that our recommendation is wrong. Any response made by the Bush will then be considered alongside our recommendation when our regional council meets in late January.”

For more on this story, and a full interview with The Bush’s artistic director, Josie Rourke, see next week’s print edition of The Stage.