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Darren Henley, ACE’s new Chief Executive, joins the chorus of senior arts figures denouncing a recent comment piece in the Telegraph calling for the end to subsidised theatre.

The great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius once said: "Never pay any attention to what critics say…Remember, a statue has never been set up in honour of a critic."

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It would be fair to say that the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square is unlikely to feature a monument in honour of critic Douglas McPherson any time soon.

A few days ago, he made a plea to the government on these pages to stop public funding of the arts altogether, on the grounds that he was unable to "think of one funded show that was any good" in his twenty years as a reviewer.

Now, I have to admit that none of McPherson’s reviews for the actors’ trade paper The Stage instantly spring to mind. I checked with my colleagues at the Arts Council, and his words are not those to whom they turn first for incisive comment on the latest theatrical first nights... Keep reading on The Telegraph