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Following consistent criticism about its BP-backed ticket scheme, the company has published its donation and sponsorship policy online. In response, campaigners have called the policy “woolly” and “disappointing”.

Ed Skrein, a white British actor cast in the ‘Hellboy’ film as a character written as Japanese-American, has left the production so the role “can be cast appropriately”. In a statement, the actor wrote: “It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the arts.”

A new study, published in the Frontiers neuroscience journal, found learning to dance helped older people combat cognitive decline and improved their balance at a greater rate than simple physical exercise.

The Arts Council England-backed ‘Take it away’ scheme, initially for under-25s, is now offering interest-free loans up to a value of £25k for musicians of all ages looking to purchase instruments or digital equipment.

A total of £112k has been paid out to ticket buyers at The Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple and the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe, which were saved by the local council after the controlling trust went bust in January.

A clash between the Friends of Imperial War Museums (IWM) and the IWM itself appears to have reached a resolution following the museum’s decision to end the Friends’ benefits and offer an in-house membership scheme incorporating all of its branches.