British Theatre Guide Blog

In spite of expectations, Northern Ireland Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has decided not to allow smoking on stage, leaving (in the UK) only England sensible enough to realise that you can’t change a whole body of drama by legislation.  The arguments in favour of making stage performances an exception have been rehearsed so often they are not worth repeating here but one comment is worth making.

Michael Diskin, executive director of Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, told The Stage, “I’m perfectly happy with a smoking ban but the health lobby treated this as a moral rather than a health issue and I don’t understand why the established precedent of herbal cigarettes wasn’t considered as a viable option.”

And that’s it in a nutshell: the whole tenor of anti-smoking propaganda has changed from “protecting the nation’s health” to making the whole thing a matter of morality and, in the process, demonising smokers. And what an odd kind of morality it is!  We can show, as Owen McCafferty said, all kinds of debauchery on stage - think Blasted with oral sex, rape, urination, cannibalism - in every part of the UK, but in Ireland, Scotland and Wales we can’t show people smoking.

The smoking of one or even more cigarettes on a stage in theatre is not going to put the audience’s health at risk as by the time the smoke reaches even the front row it will have begun to dissipate - or, if some think it may, why not put up the same kind of warning notice that we do when strobe lighting is used?  The risk of a strobe triggering an epileptic fit is far larger than the risk to health of breathing the amount of smoke that will be experienced in most theatres from a cigarette being lit on stage, but we don’t ban strobes. Nor do we ban sudden explosions, even though it could be argued that they could have a serious effect on someone with a heart condition.  No, again we simply give a warning that this will happen during the play and leave it to the individual to decide whether to take the risk.  As we do if there is full or partial nudity, scenes of a sexual nature or scenes of violence in a play or film or TV programme.

Adult should be credited with the good sense to be able to make decisions for themselves. We don’t need protecting every second of our lives: for goodness sakes, we already have warnings on packets of food that when cooked it will be hot!

McCafferty is right, too, about it being a form of censorship.  In their wisdom the NI, Scottish and Welsh governments have decided that smoking is a “bad thing” and we are therefore not to be allowed to see that it exists in a play.  How soon before they start applying the same principle to other things? Opposition to the government, for instance?

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Now here’s an oddity - a blog devoted entirely to Hamlet.  No, it’s not someone pretending to be Hamlet and writing as if blogging were something that happened in Elsinore at that time (but what a good idea that would be! Exam question: write Hamlet’s blog after the visit of the Players!) but it’s by a guy called Stuart Ian Burns and it’s a survey/review of every production of Hamlet he can find in every medium.  He’s been writing it since 2005 and there are at least 100 posts dealing with a range of Hamlet-related topics.

It’s all very personal, of course, but nonetheless interesting.  Burns compares watching productions of Hamlet to listening to your favourite album again and again - actually, it’s probably more like listening to all sorts of different versions of your favoutite song, but the idea’s a good one.

 It’s well worth a look.  You’ll find it at thehamletweblog.blogspot.com/

He’s now asking for assistance.  Here’s what he says:

As a single subject weblog written by one person (me) it’s sometimes  tricky to keep track of the many productions of the play happening throughout this country and the rest of the world.

What I’m suggesting is that if you’re a theatre or theatre group that you please keep the details of the weblog on file and should you be producing the play or something related (the opera, for example, or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) right now or in the future that you send through details  so that I can tell everybody about it on the blog.  This could be in the form of a press release but if you want to write something more personal that would be great too.

It needn’t be a production either — if you’re a publisher and have a related

book in publication, or a gallery preparing an exhibition which features images

depicting the play, I’d love to hear about that too.

We heard this week that Ofcom has actually been listening and is now moving to address the concerns about the dangers to the entertainment industry of the proposed auctioning off of the analogue spectrum as part of the so-called “Digital Dividend”. These concerns were that those frequencies which are currently reserved for radio mics used in situations ranging from theatre productions on the scale of Lord of the Rings to church services would be too expensive, which would have a disastrous effect on a whole range of activities.

Now Ofcom is proposing a solution which will involve appointing (or auctioning off the position of) a “band manager” who will administer that part of the sepctrum for the benefit of current users.  Consultation continues.

 So Ofcom - a quango - listens.  What a shame our elected representatives seem unable to do so!

And in particular for the European Regional Development Fund which has funded the development of the new Studio 7 in Leeds to the tune of almost half a million.

When we hear of the desperate straits some major organisations are in because of the savings that local authorities are having to make and other funding problems, it’s great to hear that it is still possible for new arts developments to get off the ground.

 Good luck to Studio 7 and I hope that the people of Chapel Allerton and Leeds 7 enjoy their new facility.

Last week culture minister David Lammy did nothing to allay fears that the Lottery might be raided yet again to fund the Olympics.  In a Commons debate on the topic, the LibDems culture spokesman Paul Holmes asked him to confirm that there would be no more money taken from arts and heritage but the minister ignored the request.  He also ignored calls for guarantees that the arts and heritage could have first call on the money raised from the sale of Olympic assets when the Games are over.

He did say “It is true that for a limited period of about four years, some Lottery projects that might have gone ahead will have to be postponed or will be unable to go ahead.” However he denied that it “has shattered the country’s arts fabric.”

It does show what a caring, listening government we have.

I am spending three nights (four days) at the Fringe this year.  I’ll arrive at about 10.30am on Monday 6th August and will leave at 9pm on Thursday 9th.  That is the least time I will ever have spent at the Fringe.  Last year it was a full week: in previous years I’ve done ten days to a fortnight.  So why the change?

Apart from the fact I’m getting older - this will be my 11th Fringe as a reviewer - we’ve got more reviewers, which means that more reviews have to be edited and put online.  Each review needs to be checked for mistakes (in the limited time for writing available, errors can easily creep in), and then dropped into a template page.  We put three reviews on a page and, with each new review added, the index must be updated.  Pages (including the index and the site’s front page) must then be uploaded as quickly as possible, checked online to make sure that there’s nothing wrong, and then I have to email the various press offices with the URLs of each review so that the companies can be informed.

Last year eleven reviewers produced 245 reviews.  Then there were reviews from the International Festival and the Book Festival, together with the inevitable news stories and interviews.  So over 90 Edinburgh-related pages went online during the three weeks, in addition to the usual BTG updates.

This year there will be fourteen reviewers, so I decided that I am more needed in the editor’s chair than dashing around Edinburgh. 

And to be honest, I found last year very tiring.  I’ve got wonderful digs in Edinburgh with a landlady who could not be more helpful.  They’re just yards from High Street (for Rebus fans, I could look straight down Fleshmarket Close while having my breakfast!) and within reasonably easy walking distance of most venues.  But nonetheless I found it exhausting.  I’m the oldest of our Edinburgh reviewers by about twenty years so I decided it is time to take a back seat.  Let younger brains - and, more importantly, younger legs - do the work!

I even considered not going at all, but the Fringe is addictive and I knew I would miss it, so my three days enable me to dip my toes in the water and feel part of it.  And I would miss meals at Creelers and the Jasmine Chinese restaurant whose monkfish in chilli and honey sauce gives a hint of what heaven must be like!

Here is where it starts!

The 2007 Edinburgh Fringe programme arrived this morning.  To be accurate, four copies of the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe programme arrived this morning because, for some reason, they’ve sent me copies for three of our reviewers as well as my own.

And, as I said, this is where it starts.  Here’s what’s going to happen:

All 14 BTG reviewers are going to start poring through the 288 page book - that’s what it is: 288 A4 pages listing everything that’s going to happen between 5th and 27th August: children’s shows, comedy, dance and physical theatre, events, exhibitions, music, music theatre and straight theatre, together with a full guide to all 380 venues.

Each of us will be marking the shows we want to see and, at my request, dividing them into Must See, Would Like to See, Would Be Willing to See.  Then they’ll send these lists to me and it will be my job to allocate shows to reviewers, being as fair as I can be and trying to ensure that each reviewer gets as many of their Must See shows as possible.

14 reviewers and 2000+ shows - it is going to be a nightmare!  But it has to be done because each publication is allowed just one press ticket per show.  I will create a massive spreadsheet in which everyone’s wishes will be entered and then the fun part begins: I go through it, trying to allocate shows to reviewers.

Once that’s done - and it takes weeks! - I send the spreadsheet to everyone and wait for the inevitable moans and requests.  If I’ve made mistakes - and I defy anyone not to in this situation - I’ll correct them and send out the final copy.

Then it’s up to each reviewer to book their tickets through the press offices.  But before they do that, they have to plan their own diaries.  With shows startng as early a ten in the morning and some running in the early hours of the morning and with a huge range of starting times in between, careful planning is essential.  And, of course, one of the things you have to take into consideration is the distance between venues.  It’s OK choosing to see a show which finishes at, say, 7pm followed by another which starts at 7.15 if they are in the same or adjacent venues, but if the venues are on opposite sides of the city…

 And those were the right words - press offices, for, although most venues distribute press tickets through the Fringe Press Office, the bigger venues don’t.  For them, you have to book through their own offices.  In some cases they even have to get clearance from a show’s producers.

Most of us will see between four and seven shows a day, each averaging an hour in length.  But, of course, you also have to allow for mundane things like travelling from venue to venue, eating, and even just catching your breath.  And then there is the necessity to write the reviews.  There’s no point leaving it till the end of your visit: by that time you’ll be so punchdrunk that they’ll all have merged into one, so the reviewer has to work time for writing into the day - and for accessing email so that reviews can be sent to me on a regular basis, preferably daily.

Fortunately there are computers with Net access available in the Fringe Press Office and even some venues which have wi-fi.  Landladies are usually good, too, about allowing reviewers to plug their laptops or PDAs into their phone lines - and, failing all else, there are Internet Cafes.

Is it any wonder that most reviewers return home from Edinburgh desperately needing a holiday!

Although obviously the loss of any jobs is a blow to the people concerned and to the economy in general, I doubt that there’ll be universal weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth over the proposals to unite all of ACE’s support services in one place with the possible loss of twenty jobs (as we report today), instead of duplicating these services all over the country.

The saving of around £800,000 is significant: it’s a considerable sum and will be able to fund quite a number of projects and goes a little - a very little - way towards making up for the loss of the £35m which the government is stealing for the Olympics.

It also makes sense for finance, grant management, IT, human resources, office services and customer enquiries departments (all of which are affected and currently employ 160 people throughout England) to provide a central service to all local offices rather than reduplicate facilities in every region.

But it also makes me - who am, it has to be said, management-phobic - breath a small sigh of relief - assuming, of course, that the new support services department is capable of a swift response to local needs.  Proper management is necessary - of course it is, he tells himself - but a large management/admin department brings with it its own inertia and a tendency to regard its own procedures as more important than the things they are in place to support.  As, for example, in education the filling in of the correct forms is becoming more important than what happens in the class room.

£800,000?  That’s 160 small (i.e. £5,000 or less) grants for the arts projects - 17.7 projects for every one of ACE’s regional offices.

Mind you the loss of the £35m to the Olympics means the loss of 7,000 small projects, so we still need to make the government aware of our anger at the loss of all this funding.  So sign the petition now - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/lotteryolympics/ - and write to your MP!

We’re in the process of setting up a tour of Chaz Brenchley’s play A Cold Coming.  Immediately after the show on the second night, Ray Spencer, the director of the Customs House in South Shields, approached me and said he wanted it there, so we decided that we’d try to set up a short tour. 

So far we’ve got three dates set up for November but we’d like more.  A number of the theatres I approached have, of course, already filled their autumn season, so one or two of the theatres we would have loved to play can’t take us.  One has us pencilled in in case one of the shows they have pencilled in can’t take up the date (if that’s clear???), so we’re keeping our fingers crossed there and we still have a couple more irons in the fire.

But if there is a theatre out there which would like a very literate and deeply moving 75 minute play for their studio space in November on a box office split basis, do get in touch!  Information and reviews are readily available.

I suppose this is by way of being an apology - and a bit of a moan.  Updating the site during the last week has been a very hit or miss affair.  I’ve had one of those awful stomach upsets that don’t really lay you low (although I did spend one day in bed - feeling very sorry for myself, I may add!) but do prevent you from concentrating on anything for any length of time.

I had it over last weekend to begin with and then it went away on Tuesday, only to return on Thursday with increased ferocity.  Still, it did mean that I was able to get the one review I was doing this week done in comfort and to get through my class on Wednesday.

Fortunately it wasn’t a very busy week in terms of news but it did mean that interesting stories were delayed.  We do like to scoop other theatre sites but there was no chance of that this week, I’m afraid.

Keep your fingers crossed that it has gone this time!