By Sophie Hogan.

The Guardian announced last week that Roxana Silbert had resigned from her position as Artistic director of Hampstead theatre after they suffered a 100% funding cut. Arts Council England withdrew the annual grant of £766,455 that the North London-based theatre had been receiving in an attempt to relocate funding away from the capital. Other institutions that were affected by these drastic changes include the Barbican Centre and the English National Opera. As a result, Silbert decided to step down from her role, and the theatre has highlighted the need for a ‘’change of direction’’, as it will no longer be able to ‘’exist solely as a new writing theatre’’ without the grant. 

The loss of government support for these theatres has been part of a larger scheme of ‘levelling up’ the artistic and cultural aspects of Britain, shifting these creative hubs to more Northern parts of the country. The allocation of funding has and will always continue to be a challenging process for all involved, and there is no doubt that redistributing funding away from the capital city will facilitate the growth of more diverse and accessible theatre. However, it does appear that some venues such as Hampstead theatre have been ‘’devastated’’ by the news. 

Perhaps, then, these funding cuts might push theatres to look towards new, innovative ways of producing plays. Director Simon Goodwin’s 2021 version of Romeo and Juliet embraced the pandemic conditions, creating a play geared specifically towards a television audience. Productions such as these saw huge success during lockdown, with National Theatre streams reaching staggering viewing figures of 15 million, both in and outside of Britain. These methods could continue to be instrumental for theatres in a post-pandemic world, providing greater accessibility at a lower cost for the keen theatregoer. 

It has typically been the responsibility of the productions themselves to shoulder the hefty filming expenses, meaning the theatre for home consumption has mainly been put out by larger-scale shows. However, according to Rupert Goold, artistic director of London’s Almeida theatre, this past summer has seen an increased number of screen versions produced in partnership with companies such as the BBC. He imagines a future which sees digital platforms collaborating with theatres that may be in a similar position to the Hampstead venue, envisioning the industry shifting away from the scarce government funds. He has hope that this could be done but emphasises that it would require ‘’very joined up thinking’’. Could an alliance between local theatres and streaming services solve the problems faced by Hampstead theatre and many others?

Many remain sceptical of theatre-from-home, pointing out the loss of an all-consuming experience that some feel theatre alone provides. There continues to be fiercely polarised debates between theatre purists and those excited by the prospect of streaming, but maybe this is up to you, reader, to decide for yourself. 
I will finish by urging you to watch some of the National Theatre streamed productions, of which a large portion are made available to students through your Durham login. Some personal highlights include: A Streetcar Named Desire, featuring Gillian Anderson and Vanessa Kirby, (2014), Barber Shop Chronicles (2017), and Chewing Gum Dreams, the play that inspired Michaela Coel’s hit TV series, Chewing Gum (also 2014)