Madam, – As we struggle around the country offering our audiences a brief respite from the changing winds of fortune I have noted with some concern the response of the arts community to the proposed funding cuts. As the newest arrival to the table we are hoping that the minimal funding which circus receives is not seen as an easy target by our more well-off cousins.
The Touring Strategy policy document recently published by the Arts Council rightly highlights the need to encourage and nurture companies who tour their artistic product throughout the island. Theatre, dance, music, traditional arts, literature and architecture were all examined. Strangely the one art form which holds the concept of touring at its core, circus, was not included.
A cursory glance through the touring appendix shows that the 12 theatre companies highlighted toured less extensively than the three currently-funded circuses. While I don’t have access to the specific level of funding for these 12 companies, theatre as an art form received €500,000 in programming grants, €1,500,000 in annual funding and €5,500,500 under the “regularly funded organisations” heading. Traditional circus, touring continuously throughout the 32 counties, received less than €200,000 divided between three companies. This is a paltry sum when seen in relation to the grants received by some of the performing groups which present their work to a small, middle-class audience and will never tour outside their comfort zone. A number of theatre and dance groups individually receive more than the entire touring circus sector.
To say that circus in Ireland is shamefully funded is an understatement and recent bleatings from opera and theatre companies about their position gave us all a much-needed laugh.
Should any of the theatre and dance companies annually in receipt of large, six-figure sums feel a patriotic urge to leave their urban nests and take to the roads, we have three large tents for hire and a 150-year-old touring knowledge which we are more than willing to share. All we ask in return is that the ever-dwindling resources be allocated fairly and with a keen eye on value for the taxpayer. – Yours, etc,