In The Paper

In this week’s issue of The Stage:

In the week that Arts Council England publishes details of its National Portfolio beyond April 2012, Natalie Woolman assesses where arts funding in the UK stands now

Matthew Trueman looks at London Bubble, which had its arts council funding withdrawn in 2007 and has lived to tell the tale

Samuel Jones of think tank Demos argues that the government’s cuts have tied the hands of local councils and are preventing the arts from flourishing

For the latest reaction and analysis of Wednesday’s Arts Council England funding decisions, download our free special digital supplement at thestage.co.uk/artsfunding

Also this week:

• Dear John: Can developing my physical skills help me develop my screen acting as well?

• Building relationships with overseas theatre companies challenges artists and opens organisations to new ways of working. Dee Evans, Mercury Colchester’s artistic director, tells Nick Awde why collaboration is essential in these cash-strapped times

• Susan Elkin reports on the day that changed the lives of three young performers who were awarded this year’s Stage scholarships to London’s Sylvia Young Theatre School

• After winning praise as an actress, Noreen Kershaw switched her attention to directing. However, her versatility remains an asset, as she realised while filming a new series for the BBC, she tells Matthew Hemley

• Liz Arratoon marvels at the wonders of the wonders of UK-based circus - covering pioneer Bim Mason and Circomedia’s celebration of 25 years of the art form in Bristol, and two eye-catching hit shows returning to London’s Roundhouse in April

• The Stage Scholarships: Get application forms for a one year technical backstage scholarship at Guildford School of Acting worth £11,350 and a further backstage scholarship for the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain

• As The Stage prepares to publish an audio documentary about Rodgers and Hammerstein to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the West End debut of the Sound of Music, we look at how the Stage Archive records how the duo’s shows have been received through the ages

Posted by Scott Matthewman at 12:30 PM | Permalink

Cassa Pancho founded Ballet Black to address the lack of black and Asian ballet dancers in the UK. As the company celebrates its tenth anniversary, she tells Natalie Woolman about working with the Royal Opera House and the importance of commissioning new work:

We were doing okay when we were on our own. But just saying ‘our class at the Royal Opera House’ immediately makes people pay attention, so it helped us raise our game massively

Loose Women presenter Sherrie Hewson has lived through domestic abuse, bankruptcy - and a screen marriage to Coronation Street’s Reg Holdsworth. Now she tells all in her new book, Behind the Laughter, which was cathartic, she tells The Stage:

If you put things down in black and white, if you’ve had a bad day and you go home and write it, then you get your anger out and it disperses. When it’s written down, you think, ‘Was that it? Was that what has broken my heart, has hurt me for so long?’

Also this week:

• Nick Smurthwaite remembers Alan Plater’s life and legacy

• Comedians Jim Davidson and Matt Blaize on their unlikely friendship

• New SOLT/TMA chief executive Julian Bird on his first few months in charge

• Ed Collier and Paul Warwick on canvassing public opinion on how they’re faring as associate directors of the Warwick Arts Centre

• Miriam Zendle looks at how theatre by and for deaf people is moving into the mainstream

• Susan Elkin on the new government report making recommendations for safeguarding music education in the UK

• Professor Stanley Wells on the reasons why plays from the past, particularly Shakespeare, remain popular with performers and the public

• Maggie Brown on Jeremy Hunt’s plans for local television

• Alex Chisholm of West Yorkshire Playhouse on collaborating with German theatre compnies

• Dear John on the merits of hiring a tour manager

• Kevin Berry on Corby’s new theatre, the Core

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Posted by Scott Matthewman at 3:14 PM | Permalink