Community Theatre should take Centre Stage - Burnham

1.19.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 26th Oct 2006

Eleanor Burnham AM in this morning's Culture committee stood up for local theatre across Wales in the face of a new Arts Council proposal for a national English language theatre, to be based in the South Wales Valleys, costing up to £5million.

Ms Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Culture, while supportive of the proposal, demanded a new report be made on existing Community Theatre in order that locally based groups do not suffer from the impact of a large scale national touring company.

During Culture committee Ms Burnham said: "I am concerned that we do not know the state of current community theatre in Wales, which means we cannot predict the outcome of this proposal for a national English language group.

"It is crucial that we discover what English language provision already exists throughout Wales, before any decision is taken to establish a national theatre.

"I am supportive of the Arts Council's proposal to bring theatre 'off the stage and onto the street', as this art can fantastically reflect our daily lives and identity, which is crucial in building our sense of community in Wales. However, many small groups have been working hard to achieve this already, and their efforts should be recognised and assessed before any further steps are taken.

"I eagerly await this report and finding out just what provision Wales currently has for English language theatre within its communities."

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