The Whatsonstage.com features an article on Tara Arts’ artistic director Jatinder Verma blasting Arts Council England for its cut in funding.

The company, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, had been receiving £341,266. From the start of the new financial year come April, that amount will be reduced to £170,000 – a cut of 50.19 percent.

Tara’s artistic director Jatinder Verma (pictured) said today: “ACE has clearly signalled it is no longer willing to support the company beyond its educational and small-scale work. By extension, it is also a kick in the teeth for any Black or Asian company which chooses to focus its work on the classics (Tara is currently the only company to choose to do so). Shakespeare, as far as the Arts Council is concerned, is not for Black or Asian-led companies.

“This decision clearly makes a mockery of both the Arts Council’s own commitment to ‘celebrating diversity’, and the findings of the McMaster Report (See News, 10 Jan 2008), which accurately notes, ‘We live in one of the most diverse cultures the world has ever seen, yet this is not reflected in the culture we produce, or in who is producing it.’

Other organisations such as west London venue Watermans is also in a similar predicament – having seen its funding cut after the latest ACE funding review. It is reportedly considering legal action to bolster its case. More on that soon.