IS THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND STARVING SMALLER THEATRE COMPANIES OF RESOURCES AND AUDIENCES?
FOUNDED in February 2006, NTS started with a bang with the multi-award-winning, internationally acclaimed Black Watch, below, and quickly earned a reputation for risk-taking. The recent Wall of Death: A Way of Life, above right, in which a group of motorcyclists ride around a vertiginous drum to heart-stopping effect, was something no other theatre company in Scotland could afford to put on. Though criticised by some for being circus rather than theatre and a waste of taxpayer money, supporters hailed it as an example of brave, creative theatre at its best. But while smaller theatre companies do not have the resources to compete with the NTS in terms of the scale of their productions and the pay they can offer, they have continued to attract talented writers and actors. Arguably those that are suffering most are the medium-sized repertory theatre companies. On the upside, the general tightness of budgets has led to a number of exciting co-productions such as Communicado and The Tron’s
