The Arts Council has funded a music group which attacked the Government’s Rwanda policy, as well as the so-called Bureau of Silly Ideas.
The organisation, which invests money from the Government and the National Lottery in the arts, made the donations as part of an effort to spread funds more evenly around the country.
Also in line for funding is a theatre company which argues Henry V was a power-hungry imperialist rather than an English hero and a theatre which had planned to run a family sex workshop.
The revelations come amid an ongoing row over plans to move more funding beyond London, which has seen the English National Opera lose all of its funding from the Arts Council.
Dr Harry Brunjes, chair of the English National Opera (ENO) and London Coliseum, said he was “stunned, shocked and dismayed” at the announcement, which will affect the livelihoods of many of its staff.
How dare taxpayer money be spent on anything novel, interesting, or that the plebs might be interested in? Doesn’t everyone realise that the aim of this game is to pluck the plebs and proles to pay for patrician interests?
Good. Kill the ENO.
I stopped going because its productions were so crap. It was a Jephtha by Handel that sealed it for me, absolutely terrible. The singing and the playng are always good but the translations are often dodgy as well.
Move it to the suburbs or a university town ( not Manchester where it will get into a turf war with Opera North ) and lose the National name, it is silly.
“How dare taxpayer money be spent on anything novel, interesting, or that the plebs might be interested in?”
Not quite, going by the litany of terror in the article. Looks like ENO got cut off because it wasn’t Woke enough in its productions.
The mentions in the article that do get funded range from Woke to HyperWoke, including things we love to hate here, like peeps organising Kiddie Drag Shows. The Henry V interpretation looks like it’s set to just promote the White Man Bad narrative. etc…
The Bureau of Silly Ideas is about the only “normal” outfit ( still activist artists, but relatively sane..) in the lot mentioned.
Opera translated into English is like soft porn. People who hate porn hate it, and people who like porn hate it.
Here’s a couple of ideas Rishi;
– Launch an “Arts” 200 year Bond. Switch all central and local “arts,culture,and misc.” funding to come from the proceeds. I suggest a 0.1 p.c rate but you can also have a 0. percent rate option to satisfy the mohammedly minded.
– Pass a law – at the end of each funded or part funded performance you oblige your protegés to roll a VT “If you want more of this type of thing buy Art Bonds, if you don’t: don’t! – I’m Rishi Sunak and I approve of this message”.
Grikath,
“Not quite, going by the litany of terror in the article. Looks like ENO got cut off because it wasn’t Woke enough in its productions.”
Not really. It’s more that opera is in decline as a “status” thing. People don’t show off about going to the opera like they did 30 years ago, and that reflects in demand – it’s not hard to get opera tickets even a few weeks before the performance. Classic rock is now more of a status thing. People paying £100+ to hear Macca or Elton sing badly.
Opera is gradually shifting to being about the various festival opera. Find someone with house with some grounds who will host it, put up some sort of marquee and off you go.
Anyway Arts Council funding is generally for stuff that people won’t go to see, because if it was any good, people would go to see it and it wouldn’t need funding.
In the case of opera it is in the hope of making seat prices affordable so that a broader range of people go to see it. Which is laudable but actually rarely works in practice. My experience in Germany was that local opera companies are heavily subsidised but usually play to half full houses (Munich being an exception, but it often had exceptional productions).
Not my period of history, but I’m fairly sure the consensus is that he was both these things. As historical debates go, this isn’t even controversial.
As for the Arts Council and public funding of the ‘Arts’, send them the way of Carthage.
See also: Yes Minister, Series 3 Episode 7 – The Middle-Class Rip-Off.
There’s several bits in H5 that are often cut. They show his ruthlessness : condemning the traitors at Southampton and hanging the thieves. They don’t fit the “narrative” of H as a hero but are important to create the background to the War of the Roses and show the ultimate fate of the Falstaff Gang.
“which invests money from the Government”: wrong verb, and the second noun is wrong too.
OttoK
My favourite line in that play follows just after the patriotically and martially, rousing “once more unto the breach” speech…
[To the breach…the breach!]
One of the soldiers: “The knocks are too hot and for mine own part, I have not a case of lives.”
Just love the way it brings you back instantly to the reality of war for a common soldier.
I haven’t had the chance to read this yet as I’m on the wring device to circumvent the paywall.
BUT – I despair of R3 these days, I am getting pretty fed up with the presenters.. Some are still great but many really get on my tits. They may be highly qualified and knowledgable, but I just want them to shut up.
I never bothered with ClassicFM, I found it too frustrating. I tend to listen to German radio instead these days at least I can switch off my German and ignore the presenters’ twaddle.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/classic-fm-radio-3-how-britain-fell-love-classical-music-radio/
Sheffield’s Manor Operatic Society plays to packed houses, and had to move to the City Hall for a larger venue.
And here’s the thing: Sheffield Manor is *the* most deprived area of Sheffield. Where you wouldn’t leave your bycycle outside while visiting a client.
Good to hear, jgh. Time was you could hardly throw a brick in Britain without hitting an Operatic Society.
Classic FM is Soporific Radio. Don’t listen whilst driving! It’s a classic example of something I heard decades ago by an American comedian. I can’t find it on the Interwebs despite some diligent searching. He called AM radio over there Amphetamine Radio, and FM Phenobarbitone Radio. At the time it was a very good description. Think Clint Eastwood in ‘Play Misty For Me’ as Phenobarbitone, and Robin Williams in ‘Good Morning Vietnam!’ as Amphetamine.