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30 October - The Guardian view on cuts to arts funding: a calamity that must be averted

A delayed announcement about the next three years of support has left the arts world in limbo – but also with time to fight and rethink

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30 October - Arts Council NPO delay: Labour demands explanation

Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell calls on government to explain why National Portfolio funding announcement was delayed, saying arts organisations have been ‘left in the dark about their future’. 

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28 October - Lauren Clancy: Extreme measures in a time of great uncertainty

The Bush Theatre has made the very difficult decision to introduce cost saving measures in order to remain financially stable. Our Executive Director Lauren Clancy reflects on the ongoing challenges for the theatre industry’s recovery, the looming cost-of-living crisis and the need for further government support.

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28 October - Scottish Government: supporting arts 'incredibly challenging'

Following a spate of closures in recent weeks, the Scottish Government is in talks about how to help struggling arts and culture organisations but warns limitations on its powers makes it difficult to respond.

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28 October - Labour Party launches creatives network

Labour has launched a network for creatives and pledged to “back Britain’s creative industries to the hilt”. 

A launch event for the Labour Creatives Network took place on October 27, bringing together representatives from theatre, film, TV, music and media. 

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26 October - NPO delay 'due to reshuffle', former Arts Minister claims

A decision to delay the announcement of Arts Council England’s investment plans was made due to this week’s government reshuffle after Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, a former Arts Minister has said.

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26 October - Sustainable theatre production: case studies

A multiple case study is promoting new ways for theatre to make sustainable productions. Roberta Mock and Siobhan Bauer report on three companies putting the Theatre Green Book into practice.

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26 October - Touring is becoming 'almost untenable', theatre leaders warn

Touring theatre is facing a crisis on multiple fronts, as reduced audiences, crumbling infrastructure and squeezed budgets are making it “almost untenable”, industry leaders have warned.

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26 October - Sunak keeps Donelan as Culture Secretary

Donelan becomes the first DCMS Secretary of State to serve consecutively under two Prime Ministers.

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26 October - Theatre can’t afford not to refresh its rules of engagement

Diversity: everyone wants it, everyone benefits, and it’s a no-brainer for theatremakers everywhere, right? But when every producer in the land is making survival-critical decisions, is audience diversity going to get a look-in as they seek to stem haemorrhaging attendance?

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25 October - ACE caught in the eye of the political storm

The email Arts Council England sent today (Wednesday) delaying the announcement of the new national portfolio is final proof the arm’s length principle is dead.

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25 October - Chaos of government trickles down to arts funding

Less than 24 hours before it was due to announce its 2023-26 national portfolio organisations funding decisions, Arts Council England sent a short email revealing that its planned press conference in Bradford was axed and funding announcements were delayed, but that “the announcement of the portfolio will instead be made as soon as possible within the coming days”.

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25 October - Training sector must unite if it is to effect real change

Earlier this month, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama hosted the annual Conservatoires UK conference. Conservatoires UK is a consortium of 11 member organisations, all of which train artists and creatives. The aim of the day was to rethink, reaffirm and focus – and, dare I say it, to enjoy each other’s company.

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25 October - Theatre audiences slower to return to pre-pandemic levels than film

Audiences for theatre and live music are proportionally further from returning to pre-pandemic levels than those for cinemas and exhibitions, according to analysis of government data. 

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25 October - Breaking news: ACE 'pauses' NPO announcement

With less than a day to go until arts and culture organisations were due to find out whether they will receive investment as part of the National Portfolio, Arts Council England delays the decision date.

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24 October - Two national arts movements merge to form Campaign for the Arts

Two arts advocacy organisations have merged to form one nationwide initiative called Campaign for the Arts.

The National Campaign for the Arts and the Public Campaign for the Arts have joined forces to continue their mission of championing and defending the arts across the UK. 

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22 October - ‘It’s really desperate’: cost of living crisis spells bleak times for British arts venues

Many in the UK’s creative sector are being hit hard by rising fuel costs and reluctant audiences

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21 October - Arts audiences turning away due to economic crisis

People expect to attend art and culture events less in future than they did before the pandemic, a study has found.

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19 October - LIPA scraps all audition fees with immediate effect

The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is scrapping all of its audition fees, making them free of charge.   

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19 October - Access scheme for disabled audiences in development

Arts Council England is planning to launch a UK-wide access scheme to cultural events for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent audiences. 

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19 October - Theatregoers not returning since start of pandemic, report claims

About a fifth of audiences have not returned to the theatre since venues closed in March 2020, a new survey claims.

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19 October - 'Major issue': theatre leaders criticise lack of offstage representation

Talawa artistic director Michael Buffong is among industry figures calling for more diversity in offstage roles, describing it as a “major issue” for the sector.

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19 October - Wild West: what went wrong for the troubled drama training sector?

The drama training sector is battling a funding crisis, the ongoing impact of Covid and claims of bad practice – intensified by a lack of oversight and mixed messages from government. Tim Bano investigates a climate of cuts, caps and credibility issues and asks where this leaves the sector now

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17 October - Shift in the government’s agenda must not stop us striving for equity

If richness of perspective is the mother, creativity is the child: and yet the cost-of-living crisis affects the sector inequitably, just as it does elsewhere. When pickings are slim, it’s hard to think beyond personal need.

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13 October - Why the ‘levelling-up’ obsession could doom London’s theatre scene

Off-West End venues contribute to the world-class status of the nation’s theatre – but artists are now being encouraged to leave the capital

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13 October - ACE Blog: The Next Challenge

Arts Council England CEO Dr Darren Henley CBE addresses pressures currently facing the creative and cultural sector during these challenging times.

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12 October - Pulse report: ArtsPay 2022

It’s been four years since our last ArtsPay survey to gauge the realities of earnings in the sector – four years of upheaval including Brexit, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. We hope this latest report, from our editorial partners Baker Richards, together with analysis from the Arts Professional news team, contributes to the understanding of the state of  arts pay in 2022.

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12 October - Going international: the UK needs to diversify its theatre ecology

A Flanders-based producer once told me they have a round of applause in the office whenever they secure a UK booking because it happens so rarely.

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10 October - Arts commentators call for abolition of ACE

Two arts commentators have published a booklet calling for Arts Council England (ACE) to be abolished, claiming its ‘left-wing, woke agenda’ is failing to support ‘art of real consequence’.

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10 October - LAMDA chair: Drama schools need government help if they are to survive

LAMDA chair Shaun Woodward has called on the government to provide more financial support to drama schools, claiming that the recent closure of ALRA and the Musical Theatre Academy should be a “warning to us all”.

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7 October - Theatres in Wales face closure as living costs increase – Arts Council

Theatres in Wales are having to spend up to 40% to make productions, compared with a year ago, because of the cost-of-living crisis, and many will face closure without support, the Arts Council of Wales has warned.

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6 October - Ambassador Theatre Group sets stage for £1bn debt deal

The owner of theatres in the West End and Broadway is looking to refinance its debt with a lending deal worth up to £1.2 billion.

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6 October - Cost of living: Colder pools and fewer theatre shows

Leisure and arts sectors said their revenues still have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

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6 October - Theatres join up for campaign to boost uptake of school visits

Theatres are linking up for a UK-wide campaign aimed at encouraging schools back into theatre following the upheaval of the Covid pandemic.

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4 October - Pay insecurity and harassment make freelancers lot an unhappy one

Poor pay, a lack of regard for well-being, and a corrosive ‘show must go on’ culture are the norm for the UK’s theatre sector freelancers, a new report says.

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4 October - ‘We can’t turn off the lights or the projector’: inside UK culture’s energy crisis

Britain’s theatres and cinemas can’t go dark to save money. But soon they may not have a choice

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4 October - Donelan: DCMS will prioritise economic growth

In her first major speech as Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan pledges to drive growth within arts, culture and tourism sectors in order to ‘create more wealth and prosperity’.

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3 October - What the UK's financial meltdown tells us about theatre's diversity problem

In the wake of the new chancellor’s mini-budget, the waters are very choppy indeed. This country’s yawning post-Brexit wealth gap seems only set to widen: those who have will only get more and those without will be further deprived. Anyone harbouring hopes for a more equitable society is screaming into an abyss.

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3 October - Half of freelancers feel job insecurity post-pandemic – survey

More than half of theatre freelancers feel insecure about their jobs as a result of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, a major survey has found. 

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3 October - We can change theatre

So how can we really effect change beyond burning the house down, as the call comes at the end of Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s Emilia, or simply sitting around moaning all the time and then going straight back and participating in the industry that we have been complaining about?

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