The Stage

Freeze in funds for Scottish theatre sector

Published Tuesday 3 February 2004 at 11:00 by Sally Bramley

Drama companies north of the border are to be hit with standstill revenue funding, despite the Scottish Arts Council gaining an extra £7.2 million itself.

While almost half of this additional cash is going to the new Scottish National Theatre, the current core-funded theatre organisations will remain at 2002/03 grant levels, affecting a cut in real terms. The overall drama budget will increase £250,000 to £7.5 million, with three new companies - Benchtours, Catherine Wheels and Visible Fictions - receiving first time funding.

From the extra money from the Scottish Executive, the national theatre will receive its first grant of £3.5 million. A further £2.5 million has been earmarked for the second year of the Youth Music initiative, with the remaining £1.2 million distributed among a range of organisations including £75,000 towards three disability arts organisations and more than £150,000 going to arts centres and festivals.

Pioneering touring company 7:84 was one of eight companies to receive standstill funding last year and is also one of nine to lose its annual grant - in favour of children’s arts organisations - in 2005. Artistic director Lorenzo Mele said the SAC was facing “the squeeze” from the Scottish Executive.

He added: “There are other issues, such as a lack of proper strategy about how they are going to spend the money. The SAC doesn’t seem to be meeting its objectives very clearly and are robbing Peter to pay Paul to do so.

“There is a suggestion that the new national theatre will be taking up some of the touring funding slack. That some [touring companies] will not be core funded but might get money from the national theatre to do touring. That is not what the national theatre was originally seen as financing.”

But vice-chairman of the Federation of Scottish Theatre James Brining, also artistic director of Dundee Repertory Theatre, said the problems lay with a lack of resources for the arts and that the money allocated to the national theatre would not have been given to the SAC otherwise.

“I think the drama department is struggling with a finite amount of money and is dividing it up as best it can,” he said. “There is quite a lot of negativity about and I don’t think decisions over funding have been made, or communicated, very well.

“But as far as the SNT is concerned, I think we will have to wait a few years to see what effect it has. On a wage level front, if it pays double everyone else then the theatre economy is going to look shaky. It is hard to get older and more experienced actors working for you if you can’t pay the going rate. But on the other hand, it could bring more talent back to Scotland and a big infusion of money. We will have to look over the long term.”