Thoughts as we approach New Year

My favourite Christmas present - a handmade journal/note book by Joanne B Kaar for notes and ideas on the Angus show. Thank you so much Kay!

With just a few days left until the New Year, Alison and I are busy making things in preparation for another hectic rehearsal schedule once we get back to Horse + Bamboo. We're also very aware that over the next year a lot will happen that will affect many artists and the vast majority of arts companies throughout Britain. Although the immediate subject of this blog is the future of a show provisionally entitled 'Angus', the future of Horse + Bamboo Theatre itself will depend on decisions made by Arts Council England over the next 3 months, as they begin to act on the Government's drastic cuts to public spending. So although we've had a hand up with a grant from the Foyle Foundation enabling us to start work on the project, it's by no means certain how we'll be able to sustain this and, ultimately, tour the production - probably and hopefully - in 2012.

Along with many other theatres, we have to re-apply in the next few weeks for any chance of funding beyond March 2012.  We are warned that many companies will fail in the process of doing this, and we have no illusions that the path will be a difficult one and so we've already started to re-view and re-consider all of our work. Over the next weeks Helen, Alison and I will find time to put our heads and hearts together to create the best and most eloquent funding application we can possibly devise. This blog will follow progress on all of this as intended. It is always a difficult process raising funding  for a touring show. In the future it will probably be even harder.