21/02/08
Funding-Mental Issues -
Categories: I'm currently in the process of putting in a new light fitting in our bedroom. The large problem with this is that I have little to know clue how to do it, but due to sometimes being driven by a false sense of manliness, I have decided to try anyway I actually started just before my gig last night, with only 30 minutes before I had to leave. This meant that far from being clever and man-like, I just tore a light of the wall, left dust everywhere and my girlfriend alone in a house with no lights in any of the rooms. Just call me Mr DIY.
I had my first experience of witnessing first hand the effect of the Arts Council's recent decision to cut lots of funding on Saturday. A truly lovely gig in Boston, Lincolnshire at the Blackfriars Art Centre is to be no more as of April, because the Arts Council have decided that the venue no longer needs its £50k of funding anymore. I can only assume they came to this conclusion whilst drunk, but the venue has managed to survive without funding for the last two years by some helpful private sponsorship. Sadly it can only survive this way for another month and will then be turned into flats, or something far less useful. What will happen then is that a massive culture shaped hole will appear in the little town of Boston, as Blackfriars was the prime venue for theatre, dance and comedy and without it, local residents will have to travel miles to see that sort of entertainment. Ultimately what will probably happen is many of them won't bother and just boost ratings for terrible reality TV and simultaneously numbing their brain.
I had read quite a lot about this recent situation through the papers, but until now, I hadn't experienced it first hand, as a lot of comedy gigs are buildings that aren't Arts Council funded. I had to abandon a survey from Equity about it because doing comedy rather than a touring theatre production meant I wasn't able to reply to most of the questions. But it does affect comedy because these are the sort of venues comedians tour their solo shows, the sort of venues that provide that much needed, packed out, once a month show that allows residents of these areas to see acts they wouldn't otherwise get a chance to see.
There has been a recent turn around due to Equity and many actors and performers protesting, but for a lot of venues its still too late. In the recent cuts in December, lots of venues were informed with only 18 days notice that their funding would be partially or entirely cut, meaning shows were cancelled last minute and venues closed down within a month. In the midst of this, the head of the ACE has received a pay increase of £70k, an amount that could save one to two of the theaters at risk. Dodgy? I thinks so. I can only imagine the head of ACE stroking a white cat and cackling in his limo. Another case of the government feeding the pockets of the rich while depriving everyone else.
The question that was being asked before was whether or not, with decisions like this, the Arts Council should be in charge of arts funding at all, or if that responsibility should be passed to someone with a bit of care for the venues they deal with. The announcement on Jan 29th about the ACE's re-think of its funds is a slight sigh of relief, but who's to say that it isn't only a matter of time before we are left with a handful of theaters around the country and a nation whose idea of live entertainment is getting to see the Dancing on Ice live show, or perhaps seeing someone happy-slapped in front of you.
Sorry that was all a bit of a serious blog, and to be fair not quite as in detail as some of the areas should be, hence why I don't write for the Times or Guardian or something. In other news, Belfast was lovely, despite once again stepping on stage after the comedian has spent ages doing anti-English material. Thank god for a Celtic first name. I think it gave me about three minutes of grace.
Also I discovered that my last blog received loads of hits because of my mention about Nuts TV and I used the words 'Topless Model' and 'Naked Girls'. I'm aware that this may mean that many of my readers where porn browsers and were probably disappointed with my diatribe, screaming 'where are the tits?' or something but I like the blog count so those words may appear every blog from now on. Incidentally, here's that Nuts TV clip:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-comedy-club-tiernan/3560069217
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