Spending Cuts - UK Theatre president Rachel Tackley has warned the industry to expect "pretty hideous" cuts in the government's upcoming spending review. She also voiced fears that, because the effect of cuts are not felt immediately, the general public could accuse theatres of "crying wolf" over the impact of funding cuts. Unprotected government departments including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were warned in July to prepare for budget cuts of up to 40% - which are likely have a knock-on effect on Arts Council England's funding. Details of the spending review will be announced on 25 November.
Tackley, who is also director of English Touring Theatre, said that it would be cuts to local government funding that cause real damage to theatre companies across the country. She said: "The next few months are going to be interesting, because we don't know what's going to happen with local government [funding], which we've been saying for a long time is going to be the next key indicator of how we can survive as an industry - particularly regional theatre. Those cuts are going to be potentially massive and devastating."
Ticket Touts - Prince has attacked online ticket touts after postponing the sale of tickets for his forthcoming UK tour. Tickets for shows in Glasgow, London and Birmingham were due to have gone on sale at 10:00 GMT on Friday. But they were suspended shortly beforehand. The singer then took to Twitter to vent his anger at online resale sites. He linked to a report by consumer body Which?, which said touts operated "on an industrial scale" on sites like Get Me In, Seatwave, Viagogo and StubHub. After the postponement, he accompanied the link to the Which? report with the words: "Answer therein."
Which? said some sites offered tickets for resale at inflated prices before or at exactly the same as they officially went on sale, displayed "suspicious ticket release patterns" and ignored resale restrictions. Prince also posted a picture of a vulture with the message: "Multiple choice: A. Scavenger B. Vulture C. Tout D. All of the above."
Drum Roll - Andy White, the Scottish studio session musician who played the drums on Love Me Do and other early tracks by The Beatles, has died in New Jersey. According to his family, the 85-year-old died following a stroke. White was chosen ahead of Ringo Starr in September 1962 to play drums on the single version of Love Me Doand its B-side, P.S. I Love You. He was paid a one-off fee of £5 for his three hours with the Beatles and received no subsequent royalties.
Former Motorhead drummer 'Philthy Animal Phil Taylor has died aged 61. Taylor, from Chesterfield, played in the British heavy metal band for 14 years. He features on all the band's hits, including Ace of Spades and Overkill. Taylor played with Motorhead from 1975 to 1984 and 1987 to 1992 - dubbing the interim period "a holiday".
(Jim Evans)
