25.05.16
You have no doubt heard and read about the funding cuts to the small to medium sized companies like Griffin in the last 18 months. I am relieved to tell you that we have received funding for the next four years through the Australia Council for the Arts which gives us a measure of security. However we have lost 30% of the funding we used to receive from them, so it will affect how we run the company and the scale of the works we produce significantly. The job of the next few years then is to keep making amazing work for you and to come up with ideas and strategies to raise more money and rebuild the company. And we are in a much better position than the companies that were defunded — friends and fellow artists who are facing incredibly uncertain futures because there was not enough money left in the Australia Council to support them despite the great art they have made for this country. The devastating effects of these cuts will be felt for years.
But, bleak as this all sounds, please read or listen to Kate Mulvany’s Philip Parsons Memorial Lecture – it inspired a confidence in me that the theatre community will grow and evolve and thrive again. Hashtag How Great is Kate.
And how great is The Literati cast?! Winter is coming but so is a great sunshiny comedy penned by Justin Fleming! Rehearsals are done, we are in tech and the first preview is tomorrow night!! And don’t we all need a laugh right about now. I can’t wait to see you in the foyer.
And how great is Angus Cerini winning the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Hashtag Australian Playwrights Are Awesome.
Love,
Lee
Lee Lewis
Artistic Director
