Theatre Lost according to Playwright

I read a short yet interesting article in the West Australian this Sat just gone (15th July). The peice was written by Mark Naglazas and without his direct permission, I will quote portions of his work.

A leading Australian playwright, David Williamson, has expressed his concerns over the fate of new Australian theatre at a conference of the Australian National Playwrights in Perth last week. He makes the claim that "if he was starting out today he would probably not be as successful because of the lack of support for new local writing." Subsidies that were once up to half of a theatrical company's budget have seen reductions to less than 10%. With this drop, there is less support for newly emerging playwrights as companies revert to industry proven productions to maintain turnover figures.

"There's lots of wonderful new writing out there but companies don't want to take the risk," sais Williamson. "Young writers can still get their work on in small theatres. The problem is getting that work presented on the main stages."

This is something that has been dicussed occasionally (and recently) on this site. While the truth is a sad situation, it is good to know that this feeling is not isolated to playwrights themselves. I recently posted an article relating to a politcal statement made by the NSW Minster for Arts which expressed similar concerns over theatre in general. You can find that article through this link - http://www.theatre.asn.au/billboard_bulletins/the_state_of_theatre_the_politicians_view

While the apparant RISK of new productions remains financially high, new works and new playwrights will be facing an uphill battle for recognition. As Williamson says, "We are now a film and television culture which is a shame because theatre can do things other dramatic forms can't." How true.