§ 2. Sir Knox Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the amount of the annual subsidy paid out of public funds to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and its predecessor, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, for each of the years 1954 to 1964, respectively.
§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Miss Jennie Lee)The Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessor received no subsidy from the Arts Council before 1962–63. In that year it received a grant as a guarantee towards losses on touring of £10,000, in the next year £7,000 and last year £8,000. No basic grant was paid before 1963–64. In that year it was £40,000 and last year £80,000. This makes £145,000 in all. In addition, the Company has also received some sums from the British Council either by way of guarantee against loss or for deficits on tours arranged by the Council.
674 If the hon. and learned Member wishes, I shall be glad to send him further details.
§ Sir Knox CunninghamI should be very grateful if the hon. Lady could give a breakdown of these figures. If she does not have them at the moment, will she get them from Sir Fordham Flower, the chairman, and tell us how much of this public money is used to subsidise the playing of Shakespeare to full houses at Stratford-on-Avon and how much is used to produce plays at the Aldwych Theatre, some of which have nothing to do with Shakespeare, like the one which centred round the very unedifying theme of a woman breaking wind on the stage?
§ Miss LeeI hope that the hon. and learned Gentleman will not want to go along the dangerous road of applying any kind of censorship to ideas in our theatres. We are very well served with our Arts Council, and I believe that Members on both sides of the House would agree that we should leave these questions to the Arts Council.