Conference Programme
Posted on June 4, 2009
In 2008, the British Theatre Consortium were commissioned by the Arts Council to carry out some research into the effectiveness of their 'new writing' policies over the last decade. The project was, in fact, split between us and a group comprising Emma Dunton, Robin Nelson and Hetty Shand. Broadly, we were looking at the larger building-based companies and they at the community and touring end of the industry. The resulting reports make for extremely interesting reading. It reveals that new playwriting in England since 2003 ...
Continue reading » View past events »Many thanks to everyone who came to speak or to listen. 120 delegates from across the world gathered at the Warwick Arts Centre to address a range of questions around the debates about British theatre and multiculturalism - from the promise and perils of theatre as social engineering, the way theatre can explore the histories of identity, the complexity of colour-blind casting, the challenges of 'regional' theatre and finding new audiences, the rights and responsibilities involved in offending your audiences, and the troubled st...
Continue reading » View past events »Under Labour, the arts were charged with challenging social exclusion, celebrating diversity and reasserting Britishness. But is there a contradiction between diversity and national identity? Should theatre foster cohesion or challenge it? If multiculturalism is dead, should theatre be promoting it? Is the theatre's role to encourage tolerance or provoke outrage? This two-day conference at Warwick Arts Centre, debates theatre's relationship with the community, with identity politics, with the emergent nationalisms of Scotland a...
Continue reading » View past events »In 1997, Tony Blair became Prime Minister in a wave of renewed cultural confidence. The new government abolished entrance charges to museums and galleries, encouraged widening access to the arts, and made a generous new settlement to regional theatre. The newlyd-devolved Scottish Executive made real the long-held dream of a National Theatre of Scotland. So what did happen? Did extra funding transform British theatre? Did access trump excellence (or the other way round)? Are verbatim and performance theatre new waves or last g...
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Posted on June 4, 2009
Posted on June 4, 2009
Posted on April 11, 2009