The Present Scene

Abstract

The 1960s and 1970s had witnessed a great liberalisation in attitudes towards and treatment of theatre, both for the ‘mature’ and the young. The present scene can conveniently be dated from 1979, the year the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher was elected. The new right-wing radicalism, which ushered in the entrepreneurial society, had an impact on the nature of some and the viability of virtually all theatrical endeavours. Public expenditure was cut, there was rate-capping and accountability, the Arts Council was starved of adequate funds and the Metropolitan Borough Councils, which had been sympathetic towards the underprivileged and generous towards minority groups, were eventually abolished. In a climate where profitability is the touchstone, theatre for young people is particularly at risk. Main-stream theatre, looking to its own survival, may be tempted to do the minimum for young audiences. Well-established TIE and YPT companies also found their existence threatened, companies such as M6, Harrogate and Wolsey and even the famous, epoch-making Coventry Belgrade TIE Company.