Stars of the theatre penned an open letter to culture minister, Ed Vaizey, last week following the publication of a report which revealed what damaging cuts are doing to British theatre. They urged him to “take seriously” the damage these cuts are causing to London’s important theatre heritage.
They said, and I agree, that new playwrights must be supported, nurtured and taken seriously; if they aren’t then British output will undoubtedly suffer in a short period of time.
The letter was in response to a report called In Battalions, published in February which showed how that theatre and the arts have been hurt by aggressive cuts as well as local authority arts grants which have also been cut.
Vaizey said he had no immediate comment. He will, he promised, respond formally. You can read more on this here.
David Cameron and his family visited Angela Merkel last weekend at the German Chancellor’s guest residence, Schloss Meseberg.
They discussed the need for reform of the single market and both reportedly called for, “urgent action to make the European Union more competitive and flexible.” Downing Street reported that Cameron set out his plans for the future with Europe, yet there was no indication how this was received. It’s well documented that she is concerned about his plans for a referendum, but we have no firm knowledge of how this part of the discussion progressed.
What remains clear is that the German Chancellor is anxious that the UK remains at the heart of Europe. Merkel also urged Cameron to tackle tax evasion and tax avoidance schemes and the two agreed to show ‘global leadership’ on the issue. Read in full here.
Timed to coincide with Cameron’s visit, the euro sceptics in the Conservative party said they would be open to compromise on reforms, said leading member of the Fresh Start Campaign, Andrea Leadsom MP. Leadsom changed her tone somewhat from earlier statements and has toned down her firm stance. Still the headache for Cameron remains and he’s yet to heal the rift within his own party on the issue of Europe. You can read more on this here.
“I’m lucky to be alive” said Andrew Marr as he made his first appearance back on his own show since his stroke four months ago. He received many good wishes following his short appearance in which he explained he is still undergoing rigorous physiotherapy treatment and he will return to our screens in the near future. I would also like to wish him well and look forward to seeing him returning to our screens shortly. You can see his short interview here.
