RSC Falls £1m into Debt

The Royal Shakespeare Company has joined flagship arts companies the Royal Opera House and English National Opera in debt. The RSC blames its £1m debt on a freeze in its state subsidies which, it claims, have dropped by 20% over the past six years, costing the world's largest repertory theatre £2.6m. Unless the grant is restored to its full value, the RSC fears that it will need to consider cutting productions next year. The lobbying group National Campaign for the Arts says that hundreds of community theatre groups have had to close in the past two years due to lack of money. It claims the performing arts have lost favour with the Government to ‘exportable industries such as film, pop music and visual art. In turn the Arts Council is now diverting lottery money into film projects, including £92m pumped into the creation of three Hollywood-style studios.

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