August 2022
31 August - Creative Scotland provides £1m for touring theatre and dance
Creative Scotland is to provide £1 million to Scottish creatives through its touring fund for theatre and dance.
The touring fund, supported by the National Lottery, was established in 2018. The most recent round is available for Scottish-based artists, companies, producers and venues for touring live theatre and dance work from Autumn 2023 onwards. Since 2018, more than £7 million has been allocated through the fund.
31 August - Corn Exchange Newbury and The Watermill Theatre launch joint initiative Careers in the Arts
This scheme makes a long-term investment in developing interest and skills to be part of the arts and culture sector.
30 August - Musicians raise concerns of potential cuts to West End bands post-lockdown
Musicians have raised concerns over potential cuts to West End band sizes as budgets become increasingly squeezed post-pandemic shutdown.
The warning comes as the Musicians’ Union releases the results of a survey of 2,000 members of the public, which found that nine in 10 respondents believe it is important for musical theatre to have live music.
29 August - The Edinburgh fringe is too long, too expensive and too gruelling. It must change or die
I’ve spent my whole professional life loving and writing about the fringe. But rocketing rents, a lack of diversity and its overwhelming scale are pushing this world-class cultural crucible to crisis point. No wonder artists are asking themselves: is it worth the candle?
29 August - Instead of hunkering down this winter, theatres should be warming up the communities they serve
Newspapers are full of stories of small businesses reluctantly deciding to shut shop because rising energy bills and the cost of raw materials means attempting to continue is unviable. Theatres and arts centres are facing an equally calamitous winter.
24 August - Ongoing lack of EdFringe diversity ‘disheartening’, say leading creatives
Edinburgh Fringe continues to suffer from an “incredibly disheartening” lack of representation of global-majority, working-class and disabled artists, according to leading creatives including artistic directors Chinonyerem Odimba and Matthew Xia.
24 August - I have always loved the theatre – but as a Vietnamese woman, it hasn’t loved me back
Growing up wanting a career on the stage, Julia Faragher quickly learned how limited her roles would be. A new production of Laurinda gives her hope
22 August - Covid is having 'enormous but silent' impact on EdFringe, say artists
Covid is continuing to have an “enormous, but largely silent” impact on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022, artists have warned.
The warning comes amid a number of cancellations of shows at venues across the fringe due to sickness among cast members and venue staff.
22 August - Next Prime Minister urged to reform ACE
The way the UK arts sector is overseen and funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and its equivalents in the devolved nations should be changed to increase access for those from working class and marginalised backgrounds, performers’ union Equity has said.
18 August - Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak urged to support creative sector in five-point plan
Conservative Party leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are being urged to pledge to reverse decades of arts-funding cuts as part of a five-point plan from Equity.
18 August - Drama schools are facing a tough autumn ahead
Whether iceberg or storm, drama schools can see something on the horizon, it doesn’t look good and they are heading directly for it.
17 August - Theatres warn of ‘catastrophe’ over extortionate heating increases
Theatres have revealed extortionate increases in their heating bills, as they warn that venues across the UK face closure without government support.
16 August - The Lowry faces ‘major challenge’ of tripled electricity bill
Salford arts complex says energy costs in 2022-23 will far outstrip its entire Arts Council grant
16 August - The real reason you can’t find diverse staff
The workforce is missing in (in)action. There is a gap between the working population, unemployment levels and rising vacancies.
16 August - 'Burnout': performers say nine-show weeks are putting them under undue strain
Performers have warned that nine-show weeks are putting them under increased mental and physical strain, with the industry facing renewed pressure to address working conditions in theatre urgently.
15 August - Let’s urge the next prime minister to undo policies damaging to arts education
The arts and arts education have endured the worst of the government’s defunding and de-prioritisation agenda. As an arts and education leader, I hope a renewed government will listen to our sectors, consider our viewpoints and work with us to repair the damage that has been done.
14 August - Ivo van Hove: ‘UK’s theatres can teach its politicians a lesson about life after Brexit’
As the Belgian director brings his new production of A Little Life to Edinburgh, he says the British stage has been brilliant at maintaining links with Europe
12 August - Inflation is about to plunge the arts world into a fresh crisis
Recovering for the past few weeks from the surgeon’s knife while the country appeared to be falling apart faster than my internal organs, I found one line of verse going round my brain. “Who is in charge of the clattering train?” Edwin Milliken asks at the start of his most famous poem, before going on to reveal (spoiler alert) that “Death is in charge”. The humans — the driver and guard — are asleep on the job. Their passengers are helpless and doomed, although mercifully oblivious of the crash towards which they hurtle
11 August - "Too Darn Hot: How Summer Stages Are Threatened by Climate Change
In the West, wildfires are stopping shows. Extreme heat has led to cancellations in the South. And changing weather patterns are hobbling performances in the Northeast.
11 August - Mark Beer launches inclusive theatre company to bring about 'dramatic change'
Actor Mark Beer – one of the UK’s first disabled children’s TV presenters – is launching a new inclusive theatre company that he hopes will open doors for marginalised performers.
10 August - The Kite Runner: Broadway show first to adopt mask-only nights
The Kite Runner has become the first show on Broadway to require audiences to wear masks at certain performances.
The move is particularly notable as the show’s weekly mask-only evening will be on Fridays – one of the most popular nights in New York’s theatre district.
10 August - Brexit stage left: British band tells of farcical barriers encountered on EU tour
British bands trying to fine-tune their sound by playing in Europe are struggling to make ends meet – or giving up entirely – because of the barriers created by Brexit, a charity for musicians has said.
10 August - Rishi Sunak's education proposals 'completely sideline the arts' – BECTU
The Tory leadership candidate has vowed to phase out university degrees that do not improve students’ “earning potential”, create a Russell Group of “world-class” technical colleges and introduce a British baccalaureate that would prevent 16-year-olds from dropping maths and English, according to the Guardian.
Arts degrees – which the Institute for Fiscal Studies, in a 2018 study, claimed to have the “worst earning potential” – could be at risk under Sunak’s proposals.
09 August - Equity launches Comedians’ Charter at Edinburgh Fringe
The performing arts trade union has issued guidance to promoters and venues on transparent pay and safe working conditions for comedy acts.
7 August - Theatre ticket policies 'a Wild West' for disabled customers
There are huge inconsistencies in the availability and price of concessionary and companion tickets for people who need a personal assistant or carer to support them, many disabled people say.
2 August - Applications for arts degrees up as university cuts continue
UCAS applications for arts degrees have seen annual increases over the past two years despite many universities cutting courses in these areas.
1 August - New Diorama goes dark until 2023 as it builds new ‘artistic vision’
London fringe venue the New Diorama is to go dark until the new year, as it announces it has put programming on hold so it can work on a “renewed artistic vision”.