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COUNCI L *The Lord Cottesloe, G .B.E . (Chairman) *Wyn Griffith, C .B.E ., D .Litt . (Vice-Chairman ) T. E . Bean, C .B.E . *Professor Anthony Lewis Alan L . C . Bullock *Sir John McEwen of Marchmont, Bart ., *Sir William Coldstream, C.B .E., D .Litt . LL .D. *Joseph Compton, C .B.E. The Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax , The Lady Dalton D.L., LL.D. Sir Emrys Evans, LL .D . Hugh Marshal l *Professor Gwyn Jones Miss C . V . Wedgwood, C.B .E . Councillor J . D. Kelly, C.B.E., D . L., J .P., *Hugh Willat t C .A. *Member of Executive Committee SCOTTISH COMMITTE E Sir John McEwen of Marchmont, Bart ., LL .D. (Chairman ) D . K. Baxandall, C .B.E . Charles Grave s Ernest , Boden Councillor J . D . Kelly, C .B.E ., D.L., J .P., Charles Carter, F.M .A., F .S.A. C .A. Colin Chandler Mrs. Eric Linklate r G. E . Geddes The Hon . Mrs . Michael Lyle Esme Gordon, A .R.S.A., F.R.I.B.A., Colin H . Mackenzie, C .M .G. F.R.I.A.S. J. McNaugh t T. Grainger Stewart, C .B., M.C ., T.D ., William MacTaggart, P .R.S.A., Hon .R.A. D.L. Hugh Marshall WELSH COMMITTE E Professor Gwyn Jones (Chairman ) S. Kenneth Davies, C .B.E . Dr . W . Moelwyn Merchan t T. Glyn Davies Principal Thomas Parry, D .Litt ., F .B.A. Sir Emrys Evans, LL.D. Lady Amy Parry-Williams Alex J . Gordon, Dip .Arch ., A .R.I .B.A. Robert E . Presswood David Dilwyn John, C .B.E ., T .D., D .Sc ., Miss Frances Rees, O .B.E . F.M .A . Ceri Richards, C.B .E . Dr. Daniel Jones Professor D . E . Parry Williams, D .Mus . Mrs . Eileen Llewellyn Jones lolo Aneurin William s Alun Llywelyn-Williams STAF F HEADQUARTER S 4 St. James's Square, London, S.W.I (Whitehall 9737) Secretary-General : Sir William Emrys Williams, C .B.E . Deputy Secretary and Finance Officer : M . J. McRobert Art Director : Music Director : Drama Director: Gabriel White John Denison, C .B.E . J . L. Hodgkinson, O .B.E . Assistant Secretary : Eric W . White Accountant : D. P. Lund, F.C .A. SCOTLAN D Director : Dr . George Firth, O .B.E ., 11 Rothesay Terrace, Edinburgh, 3 (Caledonian 2769 ) Deputy Director : Donald Mather. WALES Director : Dr . J. R . Webster, 29 Park Place, Cardiff, South Wales (Cardiff 23488 ) f}2C H 1 Y Iv C® P .1 T H E A R T S C O U N C I L OF G R E A T B R I T A I N ARTS COUNCIL OF GREAT BRITAI N REFERENCE ONLY DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE LIBRARY SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPOR T 1960-196 1 4 ST . JAMES'S SQUARE, LONDON, S . W ., DESIGNED BY MISS G . DRUMMOND MCKERROW AND PRINTED IN ENGLAND A T THE BAYNARD PRESS CONTENTS Page 1 . PARTNERS IN PATRONAGE 5 2. APPOINTMENTS, RETIREMENTS AND HONOURS 1 1 3. HOUSING THE ARTS 12 4. THE NATIONAL THEATRE 15 5. DRAMA 1 8 6. MUSIC 28 7. OPERA AND BALLET _ 40 8 . ART 48 9. POETRY . 5 1 10. ARTS FESTIVALS : ARTS ASSOCIATIONS, CENTRES AN D CLUBS . 55 11 . SCOTLAND 58 12. WALES 69 13. NOTES ON THE ACCOUNTS 77 1 PARTNERS IN PATRONAG E An encouraging feature of the effort to sustain the arts in Britain is the extent to which municipalities, large and small, are now participating i n that task. What has long been a common practice in many European coun - tries is at last being adopted, if on a modest scale, by more and more Local Authorities. Their assistance is often tentative and sometimes, unfor- tunately, liable to be cancelled or diminished after a municipal election ; but, broadly speaking, a civic sense of responsibility for the fine arts is gaining more acceptance year by year. Municipal aid for music and drama has hitherto taken the form, in th e main, of subsidies to orchestras and repertory theatres . Until recently there had been only two examples of a broader .concept of responsibility, i.e. of building new homes for the arts . Ten years ago the L.C.C. gave a lead by building the Royal Festival Hall, and three years ago Coventry built the first civic theatre in this country. These notable innovations are now being enlarged. The L.C.C. is to spend £34 million on further cultural buildings on the South Bank and has offered to contribute a further £13 million towards a National Theatre building. A new civic theatre is under construc- tion at Nottingham and proposals for other new theatres, provided fro m municipal funds, are maturing at Croydon, Birmingham, Manchester (Wythenshawe), Guildford and Leicester . Further municipal projects of this kind are being considered elsewhere, * and there is reason to believe that in the next few years the deplorabl e dearth, outside the metropolis, of concert halls and playhouses of moder n design and amenity will be somewhat reduced . Local Authorities are more and more likely to accept the view that the provision of a theatre or a con - cert hall is as justifiable a charge upon the rates as the public library and th e art gallery-both of which, incidentally, are provided for minority interests. But despite the growing concern for the arts among many Local Authori- ties there is a long way still to go . Under the Local Government Act of 194 8 alone, the municipalities of this country are permitted to spend ove r * See the Arts Council's recent report, Housing the Arts, Part H: The Needs of the English Provinces. H.M .S .O., 5s. L16 million a year on the arts : at present they are spending less than one- sixtieth of that amount ; and they also have other powers which permi t capital expenditure on new buildings for the arts. Many of our largest and richest cities remain lamentably negligent of their duties to the arts . In its `Housing the Arts' report the Arts Council reaffirms its convictio n that the welfare of the arts is primarily a local responsibility, and that i t should be a matter of civic pride for a town to display its music and dram a in an adequate and agreeable environment . It would be wrong on all counts to nationalise the arts and to make the provision of theatres and concert halls a Government responsibility, although there are evidently ways in which the Government could and should stimulate local initiative, e .g. by enabling the Arts Council to contribute, on a limited scale, to new building projects by, say, equipping a new municipal theatre with a stage-lighting system. BENEVOLENT LANDLORD S What type of assistance should a municipality provide for the arts? This is not a question to be given a dogmatic answer, for needs and opportunitie s vary so much that municipal aid must, for the time being at any rate, tak e diverse forms. But there is much to be said, if circumstances are apt, for a Local Authority adopting the r6le of benevolent landlord and providing suitable arenas for the performance of music and drama . This, indeed, seems to be the present trend, and Local Authorities as a rule are wisel y refraining from assuming the actual management of orchestras and repertory companies, and are leaving these duties to self-governing boards or trusts of local people on which they seek no more than a token or minority representation. A municipality which thus elects to settle for the function of benevolen t landlord to the arts thereby encourages a vital sense of responsibility among the citizens for whom it provides the bricks and mortar. It becomes the duty of those citizens to manage and support an amenity provided at considerable expense from the rates . This consumer response and consume r responsibility are as essential a part of the operation as the municipality' s contribution of bricks and mortar ; the ratepayers should provide the theatre but the citizens as a whole should provide its policy and its audience . The current pattern of patronage needs to be watched closely and, i n some respects, radically altered . The Government contribution to the per- formance of music and drama, administered by the Arts Council, is now a substantial sum. * The Local Authority contribution is increasing at a slowe r rate but one which at last shows welcome signs of acceleration . But even these actual and potential sources of patronage will not of themselves pro - vide a sufficiently broad and durable basis for the prosperity of the arts . The nourishment of the arts must not be left solely to Whitehall or th e town hall. Patronage should disclose, so to speak, a molecular structure of representation ; it should be shared by individuals, local and central government, voluntary bodies, industry and the universities . The making s of such a combination of forces are there, but so far they have rarely com e together in a unified effort in any city or region. Examples of corporate responsibility for the arts are rare in this country. An outstanding one is the Edinburgh Festival Society; and many of the other Arts Festivals, such as York, Leeds, King's Lynn and Norwich, have succeeded in developing a similar basis of responsibility. Many orchestras and repertory theatres are now fortified by supporters clubs of one kind and another, but wider manifestations of this principle need to be fostered , especially in our larger towns. The Arts Council has for some time been urging the creation of civic arts trusts to preserve and extend the loca l provision of the arts in such major cities as Manchester or Leeds, or indee d on a regional basis for such areas as the West Riding.