Forward the Philistines
..NYONE who has seen the Royal Shakespeare Company recently, either at the Aldwych in London or at Stratford, must realise that we now have playing in Britain a' company that can be judged by the highest international standards. Here in fact is a national theatre already in action, playing without the prestige prices for seats one might expect; and not only in London and Stratford, but also undertaking tours both at home and abroad. The range of productions, too, has been growing steadily more impressive. Shakespeare at Stratford, of course; but at the Aldwych the company has been introducing to the repertory the international plays that have been missing from the London theatre for so long. The company plans a second experimental season in London, but outside the West End, early next year. Meanwhile plans for the new Mercury Theatre which is to be the permanent London home, shared with the Ballet Rambert, go on. If all goes well the theatre should be in action by the beginning of 1968.
But all is not going well; although it played to 94 per cent capacity houses at Stratford and 80 per cent at the Aldwych, the company last year made a loss of £47,000. Asked for a grant of £88,000 the Arts Council gave £40,000. This is to be compared with the £120,000 to the new National Theatre while it is temporarily housed at the Old Vic, and the £350.000 to the prestigious Royal Opera House.
Naturally the Shakespeare Company's costs have been rising sharply and will probably need to rise again: only so can they run the experi- mental training studio and afford to maintain a permanent company of actors and technicians under long-term contracts, and only in this way can they go on raising standards. Of course some
'The gala leap forward . . of the losses could be recouped by raising prices, but the Company have rightly set their minds against this. If, therefore, the Arts Council re- refuses to double (at least) its grant, then one can only compare its attitude to those notables who want to abandon the enormously successful Edin- burgh Festival merely because the accounts show a 'loss' of some few thousand pounds. And if, just supposing, the Government were to re- fuse a substantial Treasury grant towards the building of the Mercury, then the victory of administrative philistinism would be complete.
Previous page
