HC Deb 07 December 1967 vol 755 cc1653-4
26. Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has to support and encourage the establishment of regional theatres and to provide employment for the many talented young actors and actresses who are unable to get work in the commercial theatre.

Miss Jennie Lee

Arts Council support for theatres outside London has increased from £261,843 in 1963–64 to £1,050,000 in 1966–67. Progress has been made in 14 of the 17 towns with a population of over 200,000 which the Arts Council, in a report published in 1961, suggested should have first-class repertory theatres.

Mrs. Short

But is my right hon. Friend aware that the commercial theatre is a jungle and that trained, talented young people, according to the report by Equity, work only a few months a year professionally, and that the money spent has has not been used to establish regional theatres on the scale which is needed? Will she reconsider this and give every encouragement to this proposal?

Miss Lee

I know some of the problems of talented young actors and actresses, but it is not the immediate function of the Arts Council or the Government to act as an employment agency. What we have been doing, as the figures which I quoted show, is encourage the development of theatre wherever we can.

Sir Harmar Nicholls

Is there any way of having a partnership between the commercial theatre and the Arts Council to ensure that the existing theatres are fully used, with perhaps the commercial theatre using them for part of the year and the Arts Council, with its subsidised entertainment, the other part, thereby helping both?

Miss Lee

The reason why the Committee has been set up to consider the relations between the subsidised and unsubsidised theatre is that there is a field here which should be further investigated.

Mr. Coe

In her concern to help these young, talented actors and actresses, how far does my right hon. Friend envisage further help to the National Youth Theatre and the permanent home which it requires?

Miss Lee

Like all our other theatres where we are trying to encourage young talent, the National Youth Theatre is having its affairs carefully studied by the Arts Council. It would be improper of me, as the political Minister, to interfere in that direction.

Mr. Hugh Jenkins

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is a great responsibility here upon local authorities to ensure that theatres in their areas are not allowed to decline? Will she give them every encouragement to support the maintenance and building of new theatres in the municipalities all over the country?

Miss Lee

That is most certainly done. Local authorities are in a difficult situation at the moment. They are caught with high rates and many urgent claims upon them, but the job which we are trying to do is to bring together local authorities, central funds and private money in a combined operation. This is beginning to produce results.