News

Michael Buffong, Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company, said he was always aware of Lennon’s ‘unique and complicated story’ and that he had sought legal advice before deciding that the director, who has white heritage but identifies as mixed race, was eligible for a scheme aimed at BAME professionals.

Well-known critic of Russian censorship, Kirill Serebrennikov, faces up to a decade in prison following accusations of embezzling £1.5m from a theatre project. His arrest last year raised fears of a crackdown on artistic freedom in the country.

Poorer children are half as likely to take music lessons as those from better-off families, a new study by the Musicians Union has concluded. The findings come as musician John Thirkell warns the Government that music education “has been thrown to the wolves” in the UK.

Ten members of Artistic Directors for the Future, a programme supporting theatre professionals from diverse backgrounds, will be granted access to the boardrooms of five venues over a four-month period to help them build relationships and develop insights.

After music’s exclusion from the Russell Group’s list of ‘facilitating subjects’ was criticised in a Lords debate, Education Minister Lord Agnew said his department will write to some universities to “test their appetite” for including it.

As a four-year funding agreement with the Heritage Lottery Fund comes to an end, taking away two thirds of the organisation’s funding, 100 MPs have urged Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright to provide the Black Cultural Archives with a sustainable funding plan for the future.

56% of Brits agree with Government plans to empower GPs to prescribe dance to patients to combat loneliness, according to YouGov data. The figure rises to 69% among those who already have an interest in dance.