DAME JUDI DENCH is furious with the British government officials for cutting funding for the arts to pay for the upcoming Olympic Games in London.
Officials are busy erecting new buildings for the 2012 sporting extravaganza, but the veteran actress insists more money is needed to help struggling U.K. theatre companies and film projects.
She says, "I am concerned, of course, that they've taken a lot of the subsidy to the arts away for the Olympics. There's no question that the recession has had an effect on the arts, especially on British films. Things are not being greenlit as much and it is more difficult for people to get work.
"When you go abroad people always talk with such love about British theatre, but the irony is it's not appreciated by the Government as it should be. The state of the arts has always been, and will always be, precarious. But there is something so alarming about the huge cuts made to companies, particularly when you read of the astronomical amounts some people are earning."
And the Shakespeare In Love star worries that skilled performers will soon be made redundant by reality TV contestants in a society obsessed with celebrity.
She adds, "I mourn that there are so many repertory companies that aren't around any more. I don't want the arts to take the form of a reality programme. I heard somebody say the other day that it is good if people can bring drink and food into a theatre and get up and go if they don't like the play. Well, yes, go out if you don't like it, but where do you draw the line? They tell people not to take pictures of us on stage but when you look up you see 100 red lights twinkling at you." (PAW/WNBTI/KD)
- WENN.com