News – Imbalancing act

Financial irregularities have come to light at English Touring Theatre (ETT), one of the UK’s premier touring theatre companies which receives annual revenue funding of £600,000 from Arts Council England (ACE).

One member of staff, believed to be the head of finance, has resigned and the company is co-operating with the relevant authorities to discover the cause and extent of the problems. The financial discrepancies have led to the cancellation of the company’s spring tour of ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’, but the long-term future appears safe for the time being, as the board and senior management are working together with ACE to develop a recovery plan that will enable the organisation to resume normal activities in the autumn of 2004. Describing the period as a “difficult time” ETT Chair Jeremy Newton said “Investigations are on-going but the circumstances are such that it will take some time to reveal the true extent of our liabilities.”