News – Boost for English language theatre in Wales

An additional £500,000 will be made available to the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) annually from April 2007 to target improvements in English language theatre provision in the south of Wales. Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport, announced the new funds at the Arts Council of Wales’ annual conference in Aberystwyth earlier this month. He has now tasked ACW with providing him with “advice and recommendations in good time ahead of the money coming on stream next year”.
Responding to the announcement, Professor Dai Smith, interim Chair of the Arts Council of Wales said: “We are absolutely delighted… We will be advising the Minister on how this money can be spent to deliver high quality theatre to people across Wales”. The announcement came as the team responsible for delivering the Wales Arts Review, commissioned by the Assembly to examine the future of arts funding and of ACW, published a timetable for the delivery of its report, which is due to be completed by the end of this year. A website with details of consultation events will be launched later this month.