Pages from Stages is a collection of articles, lectures and papers by former Arts Council Financial Director, Anthony Field. The title acknowledges his contribution as a regular columnist for ?The Stage? newspaper, with articles included here dating from 1988 to 2004, and covering such diverse topics as Becoming a Playwright, Theatre Catering, The Economics of the Orchestra and Subsidy and the Commercial Theatre. The book also contains a selection of lectures and papers given by Field over the years to various institutions and conferences, both in his role as Financial Director of the Arts Council, and as Visiting Professor in Arts Administration at City University.
Field?s articles, brought together in this way, read as an interesting memoir. The influences of his early theatre experiences are very apparent, and he often gives the impression of looking back on the 1940s as a golden age of theatre. Field gives his views on an eclectic mix of topics; the most interesting for me being the articles and lectures that give the reader an insight into the workings of the Arts Council. Having also been, in his time, a theatre producer, and a theatre consultant, advising on new theatre spaces, he has a knowledge base which makes his views on Subsidy and the Commercial Theatre and Matching Musicals to Theatres particularly informative.
Paul Webb?s editorial has a tendency to explain at length what Field is about to say in the next section, where an aid to interpretation is not really necessary. I would have preferred short introductions to each section, placing Field?s articles in a wider context, and, particularly with reference to the early articles, commenting on whether things have changed, or his argument is still topical. As a text for Arts Administrators I would say that this book makes for interesting reading as a piece of social history, and is very accessible. It is one you would dip into for an opinion or a bit of insight from time to time rather than a ?must have?.
Review by Maria Baxter, Licensing Administrator
*For further information and invoicing, contact SAM?s Books, Chaldon Court, Church Lane, Chaldon, Caterham, CR3 5AL; t: 01883 345011;
e: books@sam-arts.co.uk;
w: http://www.sam-arts.co.uk