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Exporting the arts to any part of the world is difficult, says Sanjoy Roy.
A new city, country or continent poses its own special challenges and most arts presenters wrestle with the usual first time questions: will it work? will there be an audience? will the critics love it or? hate it? and will it make or lose moneeeey?

My company, based in India, has presented work in festivals and arts programmes across the world, the majority in prestigious venues and cities and a few off the beaten track. Audiences and critics have loved the programmes in equal measure and our gut instinct about what to present and where normally pays off.

The UK presents a whole new challenge. The arts are a burgeoning industry and audiences are close to saturation point. If it?s new and innovative you can rest assured that the many arts enthusiasts will adopt a ?been there seen that? attitude, making any programming plan a hazardous exercise. London and its environs and the Edinburgh Fringe are the most expensive places to present a production. When you add the costs of air fares, visas, board and lodging, venue rentals, technical fees and marketing costs, and peg this to an unfavourable rate of exchange, an arts presenter is faced with the daunting task of balancing the commercial with the critical ? finding a sugar daddy, or discovering a niche venue which will say ?We love it and yes we will fund it!?

Over the past two years we have presented productions across 12 cities in venues that have ranged from London?s ICA, Royal National Theatre and Nehru Centre, to Edinburgh?s Lyceum and Usher Halls, as well as the Edinburgh Tattoo. Many productions have played to full houses and critical acclaim, including an all-night concert of the classical musical maestros programmed by Brian McMaster at the Edinburgh International Festival. Yet others have barely managed to pull in a dozen people. The Daksha Sheth Dance Company presents a visually amazing dance spectacle and played to packed houses in Manchester and London, yet in Edinburgh the average audience each night remained a miserable 40. Indian Ocean, a world music group, celebrated worldwide, play to packed houses from Wellington to Los Angeles, but barely managed to attract a 100-strong audience playing anywhere in the UK.

Persuading venues to feature new work is difficult! Bargaining a good financial deal is improbable. Convincing them that the production should be marketed to a wider arts-going public rather than slotting it into a minority arts constituency is impossible! ?We need to grow the market? is my constant refrain. Building relationships with presenters, producers, programmers and venues is fruitful in the long run, especially if this is based on mutual respect both for the work presented and guarantees at the box office.

Why then do we continue to present work in the UK? Simply put ? it is the crucible of world cultures, the Mecca of the arts and a platform to showcase excellence.

Sanjoy Roy is Director of Teamwork Films. t: 00 91 11 6467291/00 91 11 6210488; e: teamworkfilms@vsnl.com