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Waspe
Perhaps chafing under the frequent accusation that Television Centre is a hot-bed of left-wing trendiness, the BBC's Light Entertainment Department is making encouraging noises in the direction of any satirical writer who is felt likely to have a lampooning go at the new Government. There are hopes of someone — possibly Barry Took, or John Wells — coming up with a 'seventies successor to the legendary TW3. Waspe is dubious about the prospects, dismally recalling that TV satire found its heyday during the Macmillan administration and more or less expired during Harold Wilson's last term in office, when disrespectful references to the Prime Minister caused a certain amount of tension between the BBC and Downing Street and were even
tually officially banned. .
Big spender, small purse
None of the new Government ministers is likely to feel more frustrated by the acknowledged necessity to pull the reins on public expenditure than Arts Minister Hugh Jenkins, who is temperamentally and politically in favour of extending rather than curtailing state hand-outs to the arts. A former official of Equity, the actors' union, Jenkins would like to see even more theatrical ventures put under the umbrella of subsidisation, but is likely to be compelled to turn away a great many hopeful old friends emptyhanded.
One in three
In the light of the present subsidy situation, the lavishly state-supported Royal Shakespeare Company would be well-advised to take a quick look at its Aldwych Theatre repertory — at present being held together by Sherlock Holmes, originally envisaged as a 'family show' during the Christmas holiday period. The other two items on view are doing no business worth mentioning. David Mercer's Duck Song is a dead duck (it's a long time since the RSC had to move a sparse audience from the back stalls to unoccupied front pews), and the box office returns for the American comedy, Section Nine, are no tribute to the acumen tof literary manager Ronald Bryden who persuaded the RSC to stage it.
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