But a pretty good one happened this week, also coincidentally at
the RSC. This time, just before a Stratford-upon-Avon performance
of Twelfth Night, some protesters, who disliked the fact that
the RSC was accepting sponsorship money from BP, stormed the stage
and delivered some cod-Shakespeare speeches. Some lines were not
all bad: "What country, friends, is this? Where the words of our
most prized poet/ Can be bought to beautify a patron/ So unnatural
as British Petroleum?" And some were all bad: "If oil be the fuel
for us, drill on." Anyway the audience gave them a cheer. Theatre
audiences will always cheer, seeing it rather as offering comfort
at an audition. The protesters should remember that, rather than
thinking they won the argument in record time.
It's not the first time that there have been protests at BP's
sponsorship of the arts; the Tate has suffered demonstrations and
impromptu performances too. But, however chequered BP's record on
environmental concerns might be, the argument for what one might
call an ethical cultural policy is not as clear as those protesters
might think.
Firstly, why stop at BP? The banks haven't been that ethical in
recent times. But look at the websites of such diverse arts
institutions as the City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra and
London's Donmar Theatre and they both proclaim the sponsorship of
Barclays. Will protesters storm the stage at the Donmar? They will
have to be very cultured protesters as the Donmar is currently
staging Racine, and they will need to make their protests in
Alexandrine verse, if they want to follow up their RSC moment in
similar style.
Whiter-than-white businesses are hard to find, but the arts can
only survive with generous helpings of corporate cash. Force them
to turn their backs on that, and watch ticket prices rise even
higher and more arts companies go to the wall. That's not terribly
ethical either. Quite simply, though many don't like to admit it,
it's businesses at the sharp end of capitalism that are enabling
the arts to thrive. It's all well and good storming the stage, but
we need there to be a stage to storm.
The arts minister should know his PlayStation
The arts minister Ed Vaizey said in an interview with this paper
that he wanted to have a games console in his office, but the
"powers that be" rejected it as "inappropriate." He explained: "I
was encouraged not to in case it looked frivolous. But I think I
will renew my campaign. I have a television so why can't I have a
games console?" I think I'm with the powers that be on this one.
The TV in a minister's office is, I always thought, to keep up with
the news on one or more of the news channels. So a games console is
hardly an equivalent. I don't think Ed should continue with his
campaign for a console. It might convince a Prime Minister, already
said to be sceptical about the continued need for a separate
Culture Department, that arts ministers don't have enough to
do.
Martha attacks! Be afraid... be very afraid
The soon-to-be-released Martha Wainwright album is going to be
one of the albums of the year. I have heard it, and it is really
excellent. She is a great talent, as one might expect from such a
musical family – it can just be a bit dangerous to be related to
her as her songs are unsparing. In her debut album she penned an
ode to her father, the singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright, which
was tenderly titled 'Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole'. On the new
album her husband gets the treatment with such lines as "my
marriage is failing", "your lying and cheating", and "I like
make-up sex, it's the only kind I ever get." Martha's a brilliant
talent. Just don't get too close.
Amol Rajan
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