500 signatures reached
To: Indhu Rubasingham (Director and Co-Chief Executive, National Theatre) & the National Theatre Board of Trustees
Reinstate National Theatre Primary Schools Touring
The National Theatre changed young people’s lives, performing outstanding productions for primary school children in their very own assembly halls.
But the National Theatre has now cut these live performances, without any guarantee or promise they will ever come back.
In 2023 alone, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was rapturously received by over 7700 children from over 100 different schools, in parts of the country that have often been forgotten when it comes to funding for the arts.
It was a crucial intervention by a cherished, publicly-funded organisation, at a time when arts education in schools is in systemic decline.
For many years, the primary school touring offered opportunity, inspiration and dreams to young people who might not otherwise have the chance to encounter live theatre.
Parents, teachers, students, education and arts workers!
These opportunities for our primary school children are vital.
We want our National Theatre back in our assembly halls!
Sign this petition to demand that the National Theatre reinstate and protect live performances in primary schools.
But the National Theatre has now cut these live performances, without any guarantee or promise they will ever come back.
In 2023 alone, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was rapturously received by over 7700 children from over 100 different schools, in parts of the country that have often been forgotten when it comes to funding for the arts.
It was a crucial intervention by a cherished, publicly-funded organisation, at a time when arts education in schools is in systemic decline.
For many years, the primary school touring offered opportunity, inspiration and dreams to young people who might not otherwise have the chance to encounter live theatre.
Parents, teachers, students, education and arts workers!
These opportunities for our primary school children are vital.
We want our National Theatre back in our assembly halls!
Sign this petition to demand that the National Theatre reinstate and protect live performances in primary schools.
Why is this important?
Schools do not have the resources to offer these kinds of experiences themselves. Primary school children in particular are being left behind. In spite of the National Theatre’s cuts being branded as a “sad loss”, “unfair”, a “slap in the face”, and “depressing” by union and sector leaders, the organisation has so far refused to listen.
The National Theatre has stated that increased costs and cuts to Arts Council England funding are among the reasons for these decisions. And yet its total annual income recently increased from £89 million to £121.4 million, while the primary school touring represented a tiny fraction of the organisation’s expenditure. The National Theatre already receives more Arts Council England funding than any other theatre organisation.
This is not simply an issue of needing a more transformative and equitable approach to public arts funding. It is a question of priorities and responsibility for one of our largest theatre organisations.
Austerity is a choice.
The National Theatre has stated that increased costs and cuts to Arts Council England funding are among the reasons for these decisions. And yet its total annual income recently increased from £89 million to £121.4 million, while the primary school touring represented a tiny fraction of the organisation’s expenditure. The National Theatre already receives more Arts Council England funding than any other theatre organisation.
This is not simply an issue of needing a more transformative and equitable approach to public arts funding. It is a question of priorities and responsibility for one of our largest theatre organisations.
Austerity is a choice.