Friday 7th October 2011 by Will Langdale
A quick pick of what’s hot in the TicketTree.com office
A national treasure
It’s a theme we’ve touched on briefly in previous editions of this column, but the balance, or relationship, or conflict – call it what you will – between art and commercialism, is a tough thing to resolve. It’s an issue that has roots deep in how we define what art is and achieves, and the capitalist reality of the society we live in. Though it is by no means a dichotomy (look at Shakespeare), groundbreaking art doesn’t tend to sell well, and things that sell well tend to be regarded by culture vultures as a bit, well, crass.
So it’s fantastic to see this week that a bastion of ‘high’ culture, the National Theatre, is deftly navigating the tightrope of profit, appeal and artistry. The theatregoing press has been ablaze with announcements from the NT’s director, Nicholas Hytner, and executive director, Nick Starr, that not only has the National Theatre made no cuts after having Arts Council funding culls, but that they are in prime position to carry on developing due to the success of one very popular, very critically successful show: War Horse.
Although it’s currently at the New London Theatre, War Horse began its life in the NT’s Olivier Theatre. A groundbreaking adaptation of the multi award-winning 1982 children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo, it combines some incredibly technical and expressive puppetry with a deeply involving plot. The show is now running on Broadway, and is one of the most popular shows in the West End. More importantly, the NT holds onto some of the ticketing allocation, and the production still nets it £3 million every year.
But it’s not just War Horse that’s keeping the National Theatre afloat. Although it wasn’t part of the budget report, One Man, Two Guvnors, starring James Cordon, has taken £2 million in advance sales of its West End transfer after its astonishingly fast-selling run at the NT’s Lyttelton Theatre. Here too are plans for a Broadway transfer, and again, the National Theatre holds onto some of that all-important allocation.
So where does this money go? Well, we hope you’ve already seen! NT Live, a series of events that we’ve been excited about all year, has been broadcasting National Theatre productions to cinemas up and down the country. It’s a pioneering project, and a fantastic way of disseminating well-funded ‘high’ theatre outside the ivory tower of London. You may also have seen Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein broadcast live on BBC Three, another NT-backed production.
But apart from the National Theatre’s commitment to the spread of their unique enthusiasm for the arts, there’s also still a core of that slightly cliquey, challenging theatre that has its home within their brutalist walls. Henrik Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean was first performed in English at the NT this year, and a revival of Arnold Wesker’s The Kitchen, while frantic and affecting, is hardly going to turn a producer’s eyes into spinning dollar signs.
Good news then, this week in the West End, both for erudite connoisseurs, and for those of us who just want to have a great night out. Despite the cuts, theatre is fine, nothing is ruined.
Deal of the week
You may have seen it on our front page, you may have seen it on the news – either way, Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Marsh took over this week as Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical. She’s nabbed the role from Amanda Holden, most recently famous for Britain’s Got Talent, who’s just left on maternity leave. Congratulations on all fronts! So, why not have a quick 5% off on us? For the next week, stick in SHREKBLOG as a voucher code and see Shrek for that little bit less.