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Newsnight Review: Friday, 12 December, 2008

Sarah McDermott | 15:45 UK time, Friday, 12 December 2008

Does the prospect of impending economic disaster make you yearn for frothy musicals and feel good comedy? Or do you want searing political theatre, Dickensian novels depicting the newly poor, satires on those masters of the universe? Tonight we have a Newsnight Review special on the "culture crunch".

In the past, recessions have brought forth masterpieces of social realism and the most baroque of escapist films. We will be asking whether writers and artists will seek inspiration from the tumult of the past year and the despair to come.

Our starting panel is comprised of the Turner Prize winner , the journalist , who advises the London Mayor on culture and the playwright .

How will the arts weather the storm financially if government and private business are strapped for cash? Veteran of the arts world and a man who can remember more than one recession joins that discussion.

What will audiences want to see? The comedian , who's written a funny book about the credit crunch, has a few thoughts on that.

And we will end with musicians who are positively thriving on being thrifty - the Lost and Found Orchestra whose normal instruments include drainpipes and saws. Tonight, however, they are playing cello cases.Obviously.

How can you miss all that?

Martha

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    I'm glad I had a beer during that.

  • Comment number 2.

    Just two comments, both from me and the only part I enjoyed was the beer. Is there a message in the bottle?

  • Comment number 3.

    FROM THE GENIE TO 13TH MAN

    Try to get out more - I do.

  • Comment number 4.

    bbc comedy and cultural output seems dominated by marxists or 'ex marxists'? why is Brideshead 'them' or Bragg us? Is there a marxist list of art that says which is which? Marxists look at class not beauty or art as benefit as the highest ideal.

    art is about benefit not subject. Subject is just context for ART or benefit. If an artist has the skill of benefit then they may place that in any wrapping ie from palace to ghetto?

    Socrates said those who understand art should be able to write comedy with equal skill as tragedy because they understand the template of art.

    As for credit crunch 'art' that is to misunderstand art as benefit. Also modern 'artists understanding of the markets looks stuck in a 1980's 'wall st gecko' prison. Do the marxists/artists not know that most markets these days are dominated by automated systems run on computers programmed by oxford dons or their students?

    So why do they misrepresent and mythologise? e.g why did they try to storm the Royal Exchange? What did they think they would find there? A Wizard of Oz?

    which would be the subject for a good plot of tragedy? People whose false beliefs led them to imagine there is an all powerful magician controlling their lives? So they storm what they think is the magicians palace only to find no one there and realise how their false beliefs created as a means of mind control by their leader made fools of them?

  • Comment number 5.

    Could newsnight be put back on ´óÏó´«Ã½America? yours trulu Steve neubeck

  • Comment number 6.

    anyone watch Montalbano police detective on iplayer?

    worth a go if just for the sets.

  • Comment number 7.

    Hmm - Lost and Found Orchestra. Anyone else seen them and think they are faking it? It looked to me like lots of the music was actually pre-recorded backing that they mime to. They start of with 'live' sounds, but as it gets more complex I think it segues into pre-recorded stuff.

  • Comment number 8.

    This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

  • Comment number 9.

    Interesting that when I attempt to justify my claim, the posting is removed (presumably because it's considered defamatory) but the original claim is not. I think there is an issue here worth investigating - the Festival Hall is a venue subsidised by public money, after all. Moreover it would not be difficult to investigate. Any reasonably competent trained musician would, I believe, spot what I think I spotted.

  • Comment number 10.

    Musicolls, fear not for public money if that is indeed your true concern, I am closely involved with this production and have looked at it from every angle from rehearsal to actual performance for audience (though not actually in it I would like to point out), I also happen to be a competent musician: there is no faking whatsoever at any point, they are all without exception extremely talented and dedicated musicians and performers. Luke Creswell and his team may be many things... but fakers they are not.

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