Pain in the arts

What's behind the backstage drama at two state-funded performing arts groups?

The arts world is aflutter about two dramatic announcements in the past few days: Queensland Ballet is parting company with its artistic director of just six months and Queensland Theatre, which also prematurely parted company with its AD a few months ago, has cancelled the season of its latest play.

In both cases, there is a sense that the public explanation from the board does not tell the full story.

I understand that sensitive issues may be involved, but when explanations are vague that leaves room for a lot of speculation. And the speculators are going crazy in both the mainstream and social media.

A story in InQueensland says the Queensland Theatre play, POTUS, may have been cancelled because of the illness of a cast member. (Could somebody have stepped up, perhaps delaying opening night but not cancelling the entire season?). See update at end of this article.

Or perhaps the play — which is set in the world of US politics and apparently features an assassination — may have been seen as a hot potato given the recent attempt on the life of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Commenters have noted that the play’s director was Lee Lewis, the artistic director whose departure from the top job mid-contract has not been fully explained.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Ballet’s Leanne Benjamin is gone after six months. The Courier-Mail elaborates on the given reason, which seems to be that they don’t have the budget to fund her vision, which includes bringing in big-name overseas choreographers.

In neither case is there an indication of just how expensive all this has been, both in terms of paying the people involved and time spent pursuing a vision not shared by the board.

When it comes to the cancelled POTUS, I hope all those involved are suitably compensated for the time spent getting to this point and the lost income of not performing what they’ve created.

I wish both Queensland Ballet and Queensland Theatre well in their further endeavours.

At the same time, I’m obliged to point out that arts funding from government and sponsors is limited and highly sought after. Those who receive it have an obligation to spend it wisely — especially as there are some in politics who would happily take that money away.

Some of the social media commentary has been blunt. When there’s not enough to go around, there are obviously people with a vested interest in sniping at those who do receive the funds — especially when it comes to the “flagship” companies.

As long as it doesn’t get nasty and personal, that’s fair enough,

There have also been online comments about the number of “office staff” hired at Queensland Theatre as opposed to creatives — and the fact that a lot of “imported” talent has been used in the past.

Queensland Ballet has a full-time company of dancers, but in the theatre world permanent jobs for actors, directors and crew members are few and far between.

A lot of freelancers out there are surviving from gig to gig, and the machinations at board level of these big companies must seem arcane to them — as they do to me and, I’m sure, many theatregoers.

Just how this is seen by the people who never go to the theatre — some of whom might want arts funding diverted elsewhere — ought to be a matter of urgent concern for the companies involved as well as their sponsors and the state and federal funding bodies.

Update, August 4, 2024: In response to inquiry from Brisbane Times, a Queensland Theatre spokesperson said “the decision to cancel had nothing to do with the current political state of affairs in the United States or the recent assassination attempt against the former US president”. The spokesperson also confirmed that cast illness was behind the cancellation of POTUS, and added: “The timing of these health issues and the timeframe surrounding rehearsals for this production unfortunately made it difficult to recast to the standards held by Queensland Theatre.”

©2024 Brett Debritz. If I’ve inadvertently used copyrighted material, failed to give credit where it’s due, written or said something you disagree with, or otherwise upset or unexpectedly delighted you, please leave a comment, email me or connect with me at @debritz on X or @brettdebritz on Threads. I also have a YouTube site, @radiobert. Links are provided as a courtesy; I take no responsibility for their contents or give any warranty of their veracity. Illustration: Image by Bing