News

The Association of British Orchestras has called on the next Prime Minister to make systems and processes for a no-deal Brexit situation a priority. An open letter to the Conservative Party said preparations to date "have not gone far enough to reassure our members" that they will be able to move freely around Europe.

The city's Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for culture, Wendy Simon, attributed continued growth in the value of tourism - a 10% rise on 2017 - to major events including the Terracotta Warriors at World Museum, Tall Ships Regatta and the outdoor performance art show Giants Spectacular. Last year marked 10 years since Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture.

Plans for the teaching and performing arts building have been lodged by South Essex College and Southend Council, which are collaborating on the project. The facility will include a recording studio, a restaurant, accommodation and several performance spaces.

The 200-seat Turbine Theatre will open next month beside Battersea Power Station, enabling "world class artists to tell stories that enchant", Artistic Director Paul Taylor-Mills said. It forms part of a trend for new venues in the UK capital, with Soho's Boulevard Theatre and Troubadour Wembley Park due to open in the autumn.

A group who were turned away from the venue's bar have rejected allegations from its management that they were upsetting other customers and abusing the staff. Anne Ruzylo, who was wearing a t-shirt proclaiming her lesbian identity, said she was told by a member of the theatre's management that the group's t-shirts could be offensive to trans staff who were coming on shift.

But the theatre says the group were turned away after a series of disturbances which began with them refusing to put away placards with messages that upset other customers, and says "the clothing, gender or sexuality of the group was not a factor in the decision".

Seventy-eight British artists have written to the National Portrait Gallery's Director Nicholas Cullinan asking the insitution to sever ties with BP, who sponsor its Portrait Award. Growing opposition to BP's sponsorship of the arts has also targeted the Royal Opera House, which was the site of a protest last week, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose Associate Artist Mark Rylance recently resigned over its links to the oil and gas company.