Out with a bang, theatre head slams funding cuts

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Nicolas Kent challenged priorities that mean £250 million has been found for extra rubbish collections while the arts - and other crucial public services - suffered.

"We're about to expend £80 billion renewing Trident which is a weapon that top brass don't see a need of but we can't spend enough on our NHS, our education and our arts."

There was no mention of theatre on the Department for Culture website, he said. "Theatre isn't on the agenda. The Government aren't interested in theatre." He was "very excited" about his final production. Kent was born in 1945, the year of the first atomic bomb, and became politically aware through the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
He said there would be a "sense of loss" when his tenure finishes in April. He said he was distressed that regional theatre, which was the lifeblood of venues such the National Theatre, was being destroyed. "It won't be destroyed overnight. It will take time to wither and die on the vine but it could well happen."