Kevin Spacey’s artistic directorship at the Old Vic has come under quite unparalleled levels of scrutiny since the actor jetted in from the US and set up shop in Southwark in 2003.

At first, the decision was treated with almost Beatles-like levels of hysteria. People could scarcely believe that a bona fide movie star had decided to come to try to secure the future of one of London’s most historic and beloved venues. This soon turned to suspicion - why would a bone fide movie star want to come and secure the future of one of London’s most historic and beloved venues? And then to outright opposition, as various critics and commentators started to call for Spacey’s head when the artistic programme suffered a run of duds.

Now, it’s all change again.

Last month, Spacey picked up a special prize at the Evening Standard Awards in recognition of the artistic turn-around at the venue.

And there has certainly been a solid (although not spectacular) run of hits over the last year or so. The Norman Conquests - and the overhaul of the Old Vic to create a theatre-in-the-round - has been a resounding success. Last season’s The Entertainer and the earlier A Moon for the Misbegotten were undoubted hits and, looking forward, The Bridge Project , is a mouth-watering prospect.

Perhaps, though, Spacey’s greatest achievement since he took over the Old Vic has nothing to do with any of this.

“Zoe Tyler told me to clench my buttocks.”

That was the vocal coach’s advice to Graham Norton on discovering he is to take over the role of Albin in La Cage Aux Folles — not, I hasten to add, in order to squeeze into the slinky dresses he will don as Albin’s alter-ego Zaza, but to improve his singing voice. Well, it might help with hitting those high notes, at least…

After Gareth Gates’ troubles with the Technicolour Dreamcoat yesterday as he was revealed as the next Joseph, you’ll forgive me for feeling a little trepidation as Graham Norton tottered down the stairs on the Playhouse Theatre stage, in full drag, to greet the gathered press and photgraphers. But, ever the professional, Graham gracefully descended, and even managed to out-pout and out-pose the Cagelles who presented him.

Gareth Gates was finally announced as Lee Mead’s successor in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat this morning (finally dispelling that oh-so-convincing Gethin Jones rumour) and it has to be said that he looked just a little nervous.

As he was symbolically handed the coat in front of the press, the photographers urged him to hold out the coat so that the ‘many colours’ would be displayed. That, unfortunately, just had him grasping at random bits of material until finally turning to the wings and asking “how does the coat work?!”

As I blogged a couple of months ago, it was always going to be a tough sell.

Imagine This - the show which will forever be known as ‘the holocaust musical’ - opened at the New London Theatre last night and, judging from the overnight reviews, its prospects look bleak.

Following Arts Council England’s spending review debacle in late 2007, belief in the funding body dropped faster than share prices on Black Friday. Equity delivered a vote of no confidence against ACE at ‘the meeting’ in January at the Young Vic, there was damning criticism about the lack of transparency of its decision making process from across the board, and two small organisations even attempted to take their fight to court.

Former National Theatre and Royal Opera House executive Genista McIntosh - who was commissioned to undertake an independent report on ACE’s handling of the funding overhaul - summed up the problem quite simply in her final verdict.

She said: “ACE needs to remember that it is not a regulator of the arts sector, even though it has a responsibility for public funds. It should be an advocate, enabler, supporter, developer, critical friend - but not a policeman.”

Earlier this week her words were echoed by a panel of industry heavy-weights - Lyric Hammersmith outgoing artistic director David Farr, National Theatre associate director Tom Morris, Goldsmith’s College Fine Art lecturer Richard Noble and playwright and satirist Alistair Beaton - at a debate on whether artists should elect their own parliament.

The questions under consideration were -

Does anyone still respect ACE, or is it a dated bureaucracy?

Is it time artists took the distribution of public funds into their own hands and revitalise public provision for the arts by forming their own parliament?

Would this create a new set of cliques and covert interests? Or, would the parliament collapse under the weight of its own self-importance?

Aptly the event took place at the Young Vic, seemingly now the unofficial hotspot for ACE-bashing since the aforementioned meeting.

The dance industry has received a kick up the proverbial from Action for Children’s Arts vice chair Vicky Ireland, in response to their concerns over the lack of work being made for young audiences.

Speaking at the Children Will Listen debate, Ireland called on the sector to develop cross artform links and actually engage with children in order to strengthen the future of the sector.

She said: “You need respect for children and for dance, and then you need respect for dance for children. Part of the problem is that people haven’t seen or talked to children for a long time.”

Brave words for a woman surrounded by a room full of dance practitioners, but perhaps also welcome, given that she was one of the few at the debate actually suggesting a way forward.

But is it so easy?

For Royal Opera House creative associate Will Tuckett, Sadler’s Wells producer Emma Gladstone and director of London Contemporary Dance School Veronica Lewis, the problem goes much deeper. Namely that choreographers and dancers are reluctant to get involved in dance shows for kids for fear of being “ghettoised”.

If this is true, surely the way forward is to find ways to battle this perception?

If the lack of dance work for youngsters could see the artform falling behind theatre and music, maybe it is time for dance schools to develop a greater focus on children’s works within their courses for dancers and choreographers?

Or should institutions bump up the amount they invest in shows for youngsters and families, to raise their profile and lure in more choreographers?

Now that the problem is out there and the concerns have been raised, it is time for the dance industry to come up with a plan of action… or convince a few high profile choreographers to start a new trend.

The Hippodrome was once one of London’s grandest live entertainment venues. Houdini performed here and there used to be massive spectaculars involving elephants, seals, ostriches, zebras - in fact, name an exotic animal and it has probably trod the boards at the Hippodrome.

For those of us with memories which don’t go back to the beginning of the 20th century - and I’m guessing that if you’re reading this blog that probably means you - you’re most likely to either know it as the home of cabaret show Talk of the Town. Or, if you’re memory doesn’t stretch back to 1982 (when Talk shut), then you might have had the ill fortune of wandering into one of its many incarnations as a discotheque/nightclub.

This week, then, has been rather a momentous one in terms of the history of this venue. It has reopened as a theatre for the first time since 1982.

The show with which it has reopened is La Clique - a blend of cabaret, circus and burlesque, featuring puppeteers, a contortionist, juggling, aerial work, hula hoops and a rather naughty number involving a disappearing hanky. It is a marvelous night out at the theatre - very much in the old vein of a variety show - and it deserves to run and run.

Of course, that would be wonderful not only for the show itself (and its producers and performers of course) but also for the Hippodrome, which would have been reborn as a live entertainment venue.

Alas, though, there are dark clouds on the horizon.

There have been plans to turn the site into a casino for some time. This hasn’t happened yet because the operators in question have been unable to gain a gaming licence.

That has all changed. As of last Friday, they have one.

It’s now only a matter of time before the Hippodrome is converted into a casino, thus - it would seem - dashing any hopes of the site being revived as a centre for live entertainment on a permanent basis.

But, is it really the end of the line? Well, perhaps not.

The gaming operator in question - United Leisure Gaming - is apparently looking at retaining some live entertainment on site. What this will be exactly is currently unclear.

If that is the case - and it would seem like a very sensible proposal - then long-term it might actually be the saving of this variety theatre. Shows and gaming mix in Las Vegas, there’s no reason they can’t mix in Leicester Square.

Only time will tell. In the meantime, go and see La Clique - not only is it a wonderful show, but it might be your last chance to see the Hippodrome in use as it was originally intended.

With newspapers reporting daily of the worsening global financial situation it’s only natural that we in the theatre world should start wondering about how it is going to affect us?

Will people start reigning back their spending on theatre tickets as they attempt to save the pennies with the cost of day-to-day necessities ever increasing?

Will investors in commercial theatre disappear after losing money on investments elsewhere, or in failed banks?

Will the subsidised sector suffer as the government slashes its expenditure in ‘non-essential’ areas such as the arts?

Will corporate sponsors of arts events disappear?

Interesting to note this week that the Northcott Theatre in Exeter is to become the latest in a string of regional theatres to do away with the post of artistic director.

As part of a major re-organisation of the venue, it will now be led by a chief executive and ‘creative director’, which sounds rather like the ‘creative producer’ role which has been cropping up at other theatres across the country.

According to said chief executive Kate Tyrell:

“We don’t need an artistic director in the way that we have before. The post we’re going to appoint is a creative who will programme visiting companies , produce incoming companies and work with associate directors, who will direct the work.”

It looks like it’s finally over. After 16 months of wrangling, haranguing and probably occasional straightforward negotiation, it looks as if (fingers crossed, touch wood) we finally have a new pay deal for actors and stage management working in the West End.

The details of the deal are here and there’s more in this week’s print edition of The Stage, but the gist of it is that casts will get a much increased minimum wage in return for working on Sundays and giving up a number of extra payments which they are currently entitled to.

Who, though, is the big winner in all of this?

A faint murmur of discontent continues to rumble through the West End - this time among the cast of jukebox musical Never Forget.

It has emerged that producers of the show - Tristan Baker, Bronia Buchanan and Charlie Parsons Creative Ltd - have been considering new contracts for performers, to coincide with the production transferring from the Savoy to the Lyric in November.

This could mean, according to a source close to the show, substantial cuts for both ensemble members and principals, while others could have their contracts terminated early.

So far two meetings to resolve the issue have fallen flat, Equity is on the case seeking legal advice, and cast members have been left feeling “powerless”.

The producers’ silence in response to The Stage’s coverage of this issue is unfortunate, because what could have sparked a timely debate is now just simply a bad news story.

So, is this just a case of good guy versus bad, or is there a lot more that we can draw out of the issue?

Imagine This is a brand new musical set in the Warsaw ghetto in 1942 opening at the West End’s New London Theatre this November.

A musical set against the backdrop of the holocaust? Opening in the run up to Christmas? As the UK slides into recession? It wouldn’t appear a recipe for success.

Let’s be honest, this is going to be a tough sell.

Royal Shakespeare Company head honcho Michael Boyd wants the RSC - one of the UK’s flagship professional theatre companies - to get more involved with the amateur sector.

In particular, this has to do with getting Jo Public involved when the Cultural Olympiad and the World Shakespeare Festival, which kicks off in 2012, but - it seems - it is also a more general aim.

He explains that he wants to “take away the crucifix and garlic that we have held up in the profession against the non-professional theatre movement in this country.”

This got me thinking… How big is the gap between the professional and non-professional theatre movements? And - to an extent - how do you judge what is professional and what is amateur?

I’ve seen plenty of professional productions where the actors weren’t being paid (i.e. profit share) and I’ve seen a couple of amateur shows, which quality-wise were certainly an improvement on ‘pro’ performances I’ve seen.

Community performers can add something - I’m thinking of the Young Vic’s superb Christmas shows, which have involved people from the local boroughs - but are they taking up roles which could be going to paid performers?

After all, there are plenty of ‘resting’ actors out there, who might kill for a role at a venue such as the Young Vic - or indeed the RSC.

So, culture secretary Andy Burnham has unveiled a new scheme in which the government is looking to give away one million free theatre tickets to people under the age of 26.

The plan has been developed out of a nugget of an idea suggested by Brian McMaster in his review into excellence in the arts, in which he put forward the proposal of an annual free week when people would get to go to the theatre gratis.

That embryonic musing has now been polished into something more manageable and focussed. Under McMaster’s initial idea there was nothing to stop regular theatregoers from simply nabbing all the free seats, whereas under the new plan there is at least the promise that it will be targeted at an age group which is generally under-represented in theatres.

Over on the Guardian’s Blog, Lyn Gardner raises some interesting questions about whether free theatre seats alone will be enough to convince this age group to go to the theatre.

But, it strikes me that there are a couple of other issues which also need to be addressed.

Namely, Why has this announcement been made during the Labour Party Conference? and Do the figures add up?

Hello there and welcome to the resurrected Stage Newsblog.

For those of you with long memories, you might recall that Mark Shenton’s blog started life on this site as the Newsblog before metamorphosing and emerging, butterfly-like, in its current incarnation as Shenton’s View.

This, then, is that original newsblog reborn.

While Mark will continue his daily endeavours on Shenton’s View, the Stage’s news team will use this blog to further examine the stories covered by The Stage both online and in print. The idea being to open big news stories up to debate and maybe pry a bit behind what is actually going on.

We very much hope that this will be a conversation and look forward to hearing your opinions on the topics we cover, which will include all aspects of performing arts other than TV and Radio, whose home remains - as ever - the TV Today blog.