31 replies to this topic

[MrsDoyle]

Lynette, on 17 September 2011 - 10:59 AM, said:

I was a wee babe in arms of course, ahem..have the brochure to prove it.

Isn't that called a birth certificate Lynette??

[Honoured Guest]

Lynette, this British Pathe footage may bring back the memories: http://www.britishpa...rd.php?id=43214

Are you in the merrie dancing throng at about 4 minutes 3 seconds in?

[Jan Brock]

Honoured Guest, on 17 September 2011 - 09:55 AM, said:

The point of next year's WSF is the "World" aspect with many international productions, planned specifically for the Cultural Olympiad,

They should get into the spirit of the thing and award medals for the best productions - also drug test all participants.

[Lynette]

Well, what a jolly clip, thanks for that HG. No sadly I'm not in it at all, not with a boater or dancing.

[Honoured Guest]

WoS News story said:

In response to a question from Whatsonstage.com regarding the distribution of profits from these productions, Hytner revealed he voluntarily takes no money from any West End or Broadway transfer of National Theatre productions. He said this meant he could avoid accusations of a "conflict of interest" in his programming, and also means the funds get fed back to the theatre he has run since 2003.

Wow! That's an extremely generous financial benefit to the NT and a highly principled attitude and behaviour. And it's much more transparent than former people in his position who "took money" in these circumstances and then made major donations to the NT.

[Jan Brock]

Honoured Guest, on 03 October 2011 - 02:25 PM, said:

Wow! That's an extremely generous financial benefit to the NT and a highly principled attitude and behaviour. And it's much more transparent than former people in his position who "took money" in these circumstances and then made major donations to the NT.

However, Trevor Nunn did at least give all the money back to the NT - Peter Hall didn't. According to rumour Nunn also financed his famous RSC "Othello" entirely out of his own piocket.

[Honoured Guest]

Jan Brock, on 04 October 2011 - 03:24 PM, said:

However, Trevor Nunn did at least give all the money back to the NT - Peter Hall didn't. According to rumour Nunn also financed his famous RSC "Othello" entirely out of his own piocket.

Yes, there seemed an element of double standards about Peter Hall's relentless criticism of the Thatcher Govenment's arts funding policy while he augmented his earnings with personal income from his commercial transfers from the subsidiesed sector.

My "transparency" comment did relate to Trevor Nunn. I vaguely remember rumours that he financially supported the NT Transformations season amongst other projects. I hadn't heard about Othello, which was the last production in the old The Other Place in Stratford, but it seems to me a bit murky to subsidise one's own production and so perhaps influence a subsidised company's programming. Mind you, it was a fantastic production!

[Jan Brock]

Honoured Guest, on 04 October 2011 - 03:46 PM, said:

Yes, there seemed an element of double standards about Peter Hall's relentless criticism of the Thatcher Govenment's arts funding policy while he augmented his earnings with personal income from his commercial transfers from the subsidiesed sector.

And according to the book "Impossible Plays" the other directors working at the NT under Hall were not allowed to profit from commercial transfers.

[Honoured Guest]

Michael Grandage repeats that he's moving on from 15 years of building-based activity and forms a commercial company, Michael Grandage Productions: http://www.thisislon...next-venture.do

[xanderl]

Interesting interview from the Evening Standard which includes Hytner's future plans:

http://www.thisislon...ry-7706245.html

Quote

As the title suggests, Inside Out is part of a plan to make the whole place more accessible and transparent. It feeds into the £68 million NT Futures plan — £17.5 million of which comes from an Arts Council grant, and the rest of which the National is raising — due for completion in 2014. Hytner doesn’t quite put it like this but the theatre was built by Denys Lasdun as an austere monolith to culture in the Seventies, addressing itself to Waterloo Bridge, with nothing behind or beside it. Now it looks askance at the river, sitting slightly uncomfortably in the middle of one of the world’s biggest culture quarters, passed by 15-20 million perambulating visitors a year.

As part of the realignment and repositioning of the building, the rubbish store on the riverside will be replaced by a new bar and restaurant, the river entrance opened up, and the set and prop workshops glazed so they are visible to the public. There will be a new education centre at the back of the building. The Cottesloe theatre will be closed, rebuilt and reopened as the Dorfman, named for the chairman of Travelex who sponsored Hytner’s hugely successful £10 ticket offers for the Olivier Theatre and who donated £10 million to NT Futures. Once all this, and the National’s 50th anniversary in October 2013, are out of the way, Hytner will step down.