March 2022
31 March - Stronger together
Can the cultural sector embrace collaboration as an essential tool to dismantle racism? In launching their new campaign, Arts Against Racism, Inc Arts thinks it must.
31 March - Recipients announced for final £35m of Culture Recovery Fund
London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, Leeds Playhouse and Troubadour Theatres are among the recipients of the final £35 million of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
31 March - More vital support given to over 300 cultural organisations to survive beyond pandemic and protect jobs
£35 million from final round of Culture Recovery Fund has gone to 340 organisations across England
31 March - Are we entering a 'golden age' for trade unions?
One group of workers that were particularly badly hit by Covid-19 were freelancers. They more often lost their work more quickly than salaried employees, and had a harder time getting government support.
30 March - Josette Bushell-Mingo: 'The future of arts training must be on our terms'
Giving the opening keynote address to The Stage’s Future of Theatre conference, the actor, director and principal of London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama spoke of the challenges facing the training sector and why it must transform to inspire and foster co-creation. Here is her speech in full
30 March - Musicians' charity offers grants to tackle EU touring "red tape"
You can apply for financial support of up to £5,000 towards the cost of touring where it is possible to show the clear impact it will have on your career development.
29 March - Put designers in the room where it happens
For the first time ever, designer Grace Smart is in the rehearsal room every day and the experience has been revelatory, both creatively and from a work-life balance.More shows should put designers in the room where it happens, she says.
29 March - How to refill theatres
How to refill theatres after the Covid lockdowns; we announce the winners of the 2022 Windham Campbell Prizes; Dreda Say Mitchell and Ryan Carter’s latest crime novel, Say Her Name.
28 March - Theatres should be queuing up to support lockdown community projects
What happens to grassroots arts projects set up in lockdown now theatre and the government are behaving as if the pandemic is over?, asks Lyn Gardner. Many are struggling and venues that want to do community work should support existing projects instead
27 March - Impact of Covid-19 on theatre 'widely understated' in public discourse – report
Covid-19’s impact on the UK’s theatre industry has been widely understated in public discourse due to an “ongoing devaluation of the live arts”, according to a report.
24 March - In-person theater is back. A lost generation of artists chose not to return with it
The impact of COVID-19 on the American theater industry is immeasurable: the terrible loss of life, the indefinite cancellation of productions, the sudden stop in hard-earned livelihoods. The industry touted it as an intermission of sorts and, two years later, a majority of theaters nationwide are resuming in-person programming. But many of those who sustain the scene have since pivoted away from the stage.
23 March - Sunak's Spring Statement a 'flop' for creative workers – Equity
Measures announced in Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement fail to help creative workers and pursue an approach that “keeps punishing” artists and freelancers, Equity has claimed.
23 March - Tax plan offers little for the arts
Measures announced in the Chancellor’s spring statement could actually work against the sector’s aims.
22 March - It's time theatres recognised more ways captioning can increase inclusivity
While it’s understood that captioning is one of the best ways of making theatre more accessible to D/deaf audiences – not every person with hearing loss knows British Sign Language – we’re less quick to recognise how captioning can make a show more accessible to a wider range of people.
22 March - Levelling up won't fix social mobility in the arts
Academics say moving money away from London and replicating successful models like UK City of Culture are only half a solution.
21 March - Backstage workers can’t speak up as bad-faith players go unpunished
An article that ran in The Stage last week challenging the mantra ‘the show must go on’ sent shockwaves throughout the costume community, not least because it was refreshing to see the concerns of costume folks raised equally alongside other backstage crafts, actors and directors.
21 March - Fewer ethnically diverse creatives are employed, study finds
Ethnically diverse creatives are experiencing increased job insecurity and financial instability post-Covid, according to a University of Manchester study.
21 March - Theatre ticketers will need a heroic solution to cost-of-living crisis
Ticketing staff have weathered the storm of cancellation upheaval caused by the pandemic, but the tight squeeze on people’s finances will require greater flexibility from the industry in the battle for punters, says ticketing expert Richard Howle
18 March - UNBOXED 2022 working on 'a recipe for failure'
A scathing report from MPs says the festival is “an irresponsible use of public money” set to prove its sceptics right. How fair is the criticism?
16 March - Rufus Norris defends Netflix remarks as he warns of ‘craft drain’
National Theatre director Rufus Norris has defended comments he made about the threat streaming services such as Netflix pose to theatre, adding the issue is leading to a “huge craft drain” in the sector.
16 March - Lottery favourite promises more money for the arts
The company due to run the National Lottery from 2024 has pledged more money for good causes like the arts and a “comprehensive transition plan” leading up to the historic handover.
16 March - Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch scraps artistic director model
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is to scrap its artistic director model, with the creative aspects of the venue to be run by a series of people and organisations.
16 March - Advance theatre bookings in 2021 in line with pre-pandemic – analysis
Sales patterns for advance theatre bookings in the UK were almost identical in 2021 than in the year before the pandemic, according to new analysis that also indicates a robust ticket-sales revival last year.
15 March - Panic attacks and poor pay: Allan Clayton on the real life of an opera star
The tenor talks to Neil Fisher about the lasting effects of the pandemic as he sings Peter Grimes at Covent Garden
15 March - England's biggest theatres lost fifth of staff in 2020, figures reveal
Staff numbers at England’s largest theatres fell by an average of almost 20% in the first year of the pandemic, according to official figures.
14 March - Recipients announced for Wales Cultural Recovery Fund third round
Theatr Clwyd, Wales Millennium Centre and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama are among the organisations to receive grants totalling nearly £4.2 million as part of the third round of Arts Council of Wales’ Cultural Recovery Fund.
14 March - For theatre workers' sake, we need to stop saying the show must go on
There is an old adage in theatre, so frequently used that it has almost become a trope: ‘the show must go on’.
12 March - When ‘money for nothing’ for artists is not what it seems
Any system of basic income for artists must give them dignity and breathing space
12 March - Arts and culture venues in England to share in £48m fund to secure future
More than 60 organisations across the country will receive a slice of the funding.
11 March - Eight theatres to share £120k to become greener
Wilton’s Music Hall, Dundee Rep Theatre and Oxford Playhouse are among eight theatres across the UK given grants to make their buildings more environmentally sustainable.
11 March - Female playwrights sidelined into studios, warn writers and producers
Plays written by women are being sidelined into studio spaces because they are perceived as risky, particularly after the pandemic, industry figures including producer Ellie Keel and writer Karis Kelly have warned.
10 March - Recovery is an active process – theatre’s needs time and focus
As theatre begins to open up again post-lockdowns, Newcastle Live Theatre’s Jack McNamarasays the industry needs to put recovery first before rushing into things – he gives his tips for organisations to help artists get back on their feet
10 March - Drama schools still have questions to answer
If the Diversity School Initiative’s announcement last year that it was disbanding was an encouraging sign of the progress that had been made by the UK’s drama schools, its farewell report – published this week – is a reminder of just how far schools still have to travel.
09 March - Missing audiences present major challenge to arts income
New research suggests venues may not be able to convince up to 14% of regular attendees to return as restrictions lapse. How can organisations adapt?
08 March - Fio launches development scheme targeting under-represented Welsh talent
A new development programme for directors and producers from under-represented backgrounds is being launched in Wales.
Theatre company Fio will pay 10 directors and 10 producers from across the country to attend monthly sessions over the course of a year.
08 March - Theatres told not to work with Russian state-backed counterparts for a year
BRITISH theatre companies have been warned that collaborating with Russian state-backed partners is not “appropriate” for at least a year following the invasion of Ukraine.
08 March - Drama school students report racism, casting bias and widespread harassment
Casting bias, overt racism and widespread sexual harassment are among the issues students have raised in a report highlighting inappropriate incidents across UK drama schools.
05 March - Broadway vaccination and mask requirement to remain through at least April
Broadway will not yet be lifting its mask and vaccination requirements for patrons, despite the city easing vaccination rules, the Broadway League said Friday
03 March - The rules have lifted, but theatre's Covid problems are far from over
For almost two years, we waited for the moment that all Covid restrictions were lifted. However, when it finally happened in England last Thursday, all I could think was this: is theatre prepared?
03 March - Whether you like it or not, Dorries is having a profound impact on the arts
Not since James Purnell (in post for a mere seven months from June 2007) has a culture secretary had such a profound – and I suspect long lasting – impact on cultural policy.
01 March - Cultural tourism faces 'double jeopardy' in 2022
MPs are warned that, for some attractions, “this year might be more financially challenging than the last two”.
01 March - Funds to support freelancers and organisations detailed by Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland has released details of the two funds – for creative freelancers and cultural organisations – which will disburse its share of the Scottish government’s Omicron business support.