Apart from actors and directors, only myself and John Slater have worked in any way 'full time' on Maverick. The lovely Carol Edwards did our books for a short time before her job got in the way and there have been numerous and very wonderful volunteers taking various roles, but long term there has only been Slates and me. And now there's only me, mainly because of the crippling economics of presenting truly accessible, intimate and AFFORDABLE theatre - and paying everyone a living wage. Maverick never really paid a living wage. We just tried to do the best we could, balancing, as I misquote Hamlet, 'delight and dole' and hoping that one day the funding bodies would get what we were trying to do and rush to the financial rescue. Sadly, although vocally supportive, they never really did and although occasional drunken vitriol at the injustice of it all would grab us on a night down the Billesley after rave reviews, I commit almost heresy here when I say I can't really blame them. The arts after all, is your money. Public funds. They have to be very careful with it. And we - or at least I - just were not smart enough to get our concept over to the funders in terms they might understand.
Which means I'm personally a bit pissed off by the Govt raiding the lottery for the Olympics. But that's another story.
I hope the New Maverick (blimey, I'm sounding a bit like the Government meeself!) will change its fortunes soon. Watch this space.
No comments:
Post a Comment