February 2022
28 February - London vs regions approach to 'levelling up' is reductive – theatre bosses
Theatre leaders across England have warned that the strategy to divert arts funding away from London risks pitting the capital against the rest of the country and does not reflect the industry’s complex and “symbiotic” ecosystem.
28 February - ACE funding must be rebalanced – but the issue is complex and painful
Access to the theatre is limited by many factors and a significant one is where you live. Even if you can surmount other barriers – the cost of tickets, the feeling this may be a club to which you don’t belong – you are not going to have access to theatre unless it is readily available near you.
25 February - Government urged to keep free lateral flow tests for live performance workers
Ending free lateral flow tests poses a serious threat to the safety of workers in live performance and should continue to be available to them for no charge, unions have warned.
24 February - Sadiq Khan: London arts funding cut a devastating blow to capital's creative sector
London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that the government’s decision to cut arts funding in the capital by more than £70 million will deliver a “devastating blow” to the city’s creative sector.
24 February - UK theatres to retain Covid measures despite guidance changes
Many theatres will retain some form of Covid status certification even though government guidance has shifted, it has been revealed.
23 February - London theatres face cuts as ACE told to address ‘historic imbalance’
Arts Council England has been told by government to reduce its funding of London-based organisations by more than £70 million over the next three years and divert investment to areas that have been traditionally underserved.
23 February - Culture Minister announces 'the biggest shake-up in arts funding for a generation' with 80 new NPOs
Culture Minister Nadine Dorries has unveiled her plans for “the biggest shake-up in arts funding for a generation”, with “plans to increase and better distribute funding for the sector to previously overlooked or neglected areas”.
23 February - Mental-health strain ‘forcing theatre marketers out of the industry’
Theatre marketers have warned that mental health strain from managing social media during the pandemic combined with a pressure to innovate to encourage audiences back is forcing workers to leave the sector.
22 February - Rufus Norris: Netflix and Amazon are keeping stars out of the National Theatre
The artistic director explains why TV streaming and Covid have made running the theatre a challenge
22 February - How to remain inclusive whilst living with Covid
Andrew Miller says arts organisations must work with disabled artists to keep them safe amid the very real risks the Government’s plan poses to their health.
21 February - Uncertainty over NPO timelines as Arts Council awaits government confirmation
Arts Council England has delayed opening applications for its forthcoming national portfolio organisation funding round, as it awaits information from the government about its own settlement.
21 February - The pandemic nearly killed theatre – the creative way it fought back could leave it stronger
When the UK went into lockdown in 2020, its multibillion-pound theatre industry could have ceased to exist. However, the vacuum caused by this physical shutdown served in many cases as a spurring force for increased creativity and resourcefulness.
21 February - Subsidy doesn’t just mean funding theatres – it supports creatives too
As one of the lucky few who managed, after falling through the cracks of government assistance during the pandemic, to make the transition from theatre to film and TV, it’s been a nostalgic pleasure these past few weeks to be back in a theatre building.
19 February - Mark Morris tells the hard truth about what it means to be an artist today: ‘Everything’s terrible right now’
Theaters are open, tickets are selling, dancers and singers and actors and musicians are back at work … the pandemic’s clampdown on the performing arts is behind us, right? Right?
17 February - Box-office losses are only part of theatre’s Covid woes
Documents filed this month by England’s top theatre operators confirm what we already knew: Covid had an absolutely disastrous effect across the industry.
17 February - Future of Theatre conference to return in March
Award-winning conference Future of Theatre will return in March, with 250 free tickets available to freelancers.
16 February - What it's like to be a COVID compliance officer in a Broadway theater
With the continued waves of COVID-19, the 41 theaters that make up Broadway have become their own battlefields, combating the virus with a crucial line of defense: COVID Compliance Teams. Thrust to the frontlines, these teams hold the heavy burden of ensuring a safe environment for audiences and theater workers alike.
16 February - 1,670 Theatre Workers Given Emergency Financial Aid In Latest Round Of Theatre Artists Fund Grants
The Theatre Artists Fund has delivered 1,670 emergency grants in a seventh round of giving, providing vital aid to freelance theatre workers impacted by the recent Covid surge and subsequent show cancellations.
16 February - Telling our stories
There are many reasons why arts organisations seek to diversify their staff and creatives, but there’s only one result: exciting, meaningful cultural outputs, says Inc Arts UK.
16 February - 'Dreadful storm' – Covid's assault on theatre finances revealed
England’s largest subsidised venues lost more than £116 million in revenue during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to newly published accounts for 2020/21.
16 February - The ‘culture wars’ are a distraction from issues like Brexit – but it is all Oliver Dowden has to give
The best that can probably be said for keeping this particular flame alive is that it will help solidify sections of Conservative support, argues Sean O’Grady
15 February - British dance post-pandemic, Pissarro, Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton
Cassa Pancho and Billy Trevitt on the future of British dance, the “father of Impressionism” Pissarro and Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton on new play The Forest.
15 February - Government department to open new 'hub' in Manchester city centre creating up to 400 jobs
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced it is opening the office as part of Levelling Up plans.
14 February - Government urged to invest more in arts R&D amid claims sector is neglected
A new campaign is urging the government to invest more in research and development within the creative industries, amid warnings that the sector is being neglected.
14 February - BUSINESSES URGED TO APPLY FOR LEFTOVER GOVERNMENT COVID SUPPORT GRANTS
English businesses are being urged to keep applying for £840m ($1.3bn/€1bn) worth of COVID-19 support grants, which are still available.
14 February - 2022 brings yet more challenges – to win we need to aim bigger and better
Another new year, another deluge of miserable news. Whether it’s lost battles on the taxation of Self-Employment Income Support or birthday parties at Number 10, 2022 carries on the form of its recent predecessors.
11 February - Commercial theatre companies report Covid revenue losses of up to 90%
Commercial companies including Ambassador Theatre Group and HQ Theatres have revealed massive losses they incurred to March 2021, with theatre closures leading to 90% falls in revenue in some instances.
09 February - West End's Mamma Mia! to hold equality training after discrimination claim
The West End production of Mamma Mia! is implementing company-wide diversity training in a bid to promote equality among its employees and foster more positive working environments.
08 February - It’s time for radical thinking around programme development and finance
Last month, arts leaders across England eagerly began the application process for inclusion in the national portfolio of Arts Council England. From about 900 existing NPOs in England to hundreds of others seeking inclusion, competition will be fierce.
08 February - RSC's Jacqui O'Hanlon: We need to oppose devaluing of arts in schools
RSC director of learning Jacqui O’Hanlon has urged the theatre sector to unite in combating the message that arts subjects at school are “less valued”.
08 February - Unesco warns of crisis in creative sector with 10m jobs lost due to pandemic
Ten million jobs in creative industries worldwide were lost in 2020 as a result of the Covid pandemic, and the increasing digitisation of cultural output means it is harder than ever for artists to make a living, a Unesco report has said.
03 February - Keir Starmer: Government has failed creatives over Brexit touring crisis
Keir Starmer has taken aim at the government’s handling of the impacts of Brexit on the creative industries, calling for urgent progress on an EU-wide touring agreement.
03 February - Act now or risk losing London theatre forever – report
West End theatres are at risk of being lost forever without greater collaboration between venue operators, councils and other policymakers, according to a new report that calls for urgent action to protect the future of London’s venues
03 February - How Covid brought new roles for Singapore's theatre actors
One sector that has battled to keep the show on the road during the pandemic has been the theatre industry, partly because it’s hard to translate the drama of stage plays to an online platform. However, one production company in Singapore has found an innovative way to put itself back in the spotlight.
03 February - All additional ACE funding to be spent outside London
Arts Council England will spend all its budget uplift outside of London, the government has announced in its ’levelling up’ white paper.
The government plan, published on February 2, aims to spread social, economic and cultural opportunity more equally across the UK.
03 February - As SOLT seeks a new chief, now is the time for big changes
Producer Michael Rose says the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre are in the impossible position of representing two very different sectors – and Covid has shown that the commercial sector desperately needs a powerful legislative body.
02 February - Theresa May urges her local council to drop plan to abolish arts funding
Theresa May has urged her local council to reconsider plans to abolish its funding of the arts as concern grows about widespread cuts to the cultural sector across England.
02 February - Tarek Iskander: Pandemic revealed essential nature of work with communities
The pandemic has laid bare the importance of theatre work with communities and young people, Battersea Arts Centre artistic director Tarek Iskander and Company Three’s Ned Glasier have said.
02 February - The Lion King tour company experience racial abuse when leaving venue
Company members involved in the UK and Ireland leg of The Lion King were subjected to racial abuse, Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin and Disney Theatrical have stated.
02 February - Nadine Dorries to publish 'vision' for creative sector's future
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries has announced plans to publish an “ambitious” vision for the creative industries, setting out how it can become more inclusive, sustainable and community driven.
02 February - 10 theatres added to 2022 Theatres at Risk Register
10 theatres have been added to the 2022 Register, far more than in any recent years, as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is felt across the theatre sector.
01 February - Campaign to offer 2-for-1 regional theatre tickets to National Lottery players
More than 150,000 theatre tickets will be subsidised by £2 million National Lottery money as part of a major new campaign to encourage the public to support local theatres as they recover from the pandemic.
01 February - ‘If you’ve handled an opera director, you can handle a five-year-old’: creatives who changed jobs during the pandemic
Covid has devastated the arts, with many professionals forced to seek work elsewhere: as teachers, coders … and wine tasters. How have they found it?