#theatre-funding

#theatre-funding

Oasis was dead. It was a certainty. I was there when Peaches Christ's planned tribute to Heklina suddenly became a wake for the very venue hosting the tribute. I was there in October when the company's annual Rocky Horror production went from ridiculously raunchy to absolutely heart-breaking. I, like all of you, have spent the last half-year reading the announcements and comforting friends as we counted down the days 'til their New Year's Eve swan song.

More than any other major London theatre, Hampstead has been at the sharp end of recent funding struggles: its last artistic director Roxana Silbert quit in 2022 as a result of the venue losing all of its Arts Council funding. Still, the remaining team have limped on valiantly, in part helped by the patronage of the the late, great Tom Stoppard: annual revivals of his more obscure plays the last three Christmases have guaranteed bums on seats, and the rest of the programme has been no slouch.