Hi,

Wow! We're very excited to hear about the NT's stand on this issue!

Yours,

Sam Chase, (Art Not Oil)

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: National Theatre Press Release: 'Shell-sponsored Oedipus to
kickstart public debate on oil industry arts funding'
From:  press@nationaltheatre.co.uk
Date: Wed, October 15, 2008 12:41 pm
To:  info@artnotoil.org.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Theatre Press Release, 15th October 2008:

SHELL-SPONSORED 'OEDIPUS' TO KICKSTART PUBLIC DEBATE ON OIL INDUSTRY ARTS
FUNDING

The National Theatre is to break new, and possibly dangerous, ground with
its new production of 'Oedipus': it has decided to kickstart a national
debate about the potential contradictions in the relationship between
sponsor and production.

˜For some time now we have been very grateful to receive financial support
from various companies whose vision has been matched only by their
resources,' says NT Director Nicholas Hytner. 'It has worked very well: we
have been able to continue our work, despite the haemorrhaging of public
funds away from the arts and other essential services and towards
unnecessary wars to secure future reserves of oil. These companies have
considered it prudent to ally themselves to prestigious cultural
institutions, and to allow a little kudos to rub off on them.

˜Our corporate supporters may have ˜reputational issues' which cause some
to question whether they belong at the National at all. But they may have
sympathisers within the building who might say "This theatre cherishes an
autonomy that allows it to push the creative envelope in whichever
direction it wishes, and sometimes to pose troubling questions about life,
death and everything in between in the 21st century. Is that worth
sacrificing?"

˜However, rather than ignore these potential brickbats, and to add to our
impressive existing energy-saving initiatives, we have decided to take the
bull by the horns. After all, could not the desolate, blasted landscape of
Oedipus' Thebes, where 'there is poison' in the land, stand in for a
climate change-ravaged planet earth of a few years in the future? We are
extremely grateful to Shell for its support, but we would also like a
planet to live, love and act on in the years to come. For that reason, we
hope this production of 'Oedipus' - as well as stimulating, shocking and
moving audiences - will help open up a space where we can talk about the
role that oil, and oil companies, play in maintaining a western way of
life that appears to be having toxic impacts across the board. We would
like to be able to look our children in the eye, and say that we did what
we could to avert catapulting the human species into an appalling cycle of
wars for ever-dwindling resources.

˜We think we are the first major cultural institution to call for a public
debate about the ethical and climatic impacts of its financial
relationships, and we hope that we will soon be able to join with the
National Portrait Gallery, Royal Opera House, Tate Galleries, National
Gallery, Science Museum, British Museum, National Maritime Museum and
Natural History Museum (all at least for the moment recipients of funding
from BP, Shell or both) in launching a campaign for public funds to be
diverted from the UK's vast military budget towards the public good,
allowing us to bid farewell to some of our more controversial corporate
sponsors.

'The NT is beginning this debate by soliciting the views of its audiences,
and hopes to be able to sit down with cultural institutions in the same
predicament during 2009, in the hope of developing a collective 'climate
crisis' strategy.

Nicholas Hytner: 020 7452 3400;  nhytner@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Press office: 020 7452 3030;  press@nationaltheatre.org.uk
ENDS; 14th October 2008

NOTES TO EDITORS

Oedipus is the second production in The Shell Series: Classic Drama at
the National Theatre

Press night is Wednesday October 15th at 7pm.

Here are details of the rest of the run. Start time is 8:00 pm, unless
otherwise indicated:

October: Thu 16 (3:00 pm), Thu 16, Thu 23, Fri 24, Sat 25 (3:00 pm), Sat
25, Sun 26 (3:00 pm), Mon 27, Tue 28 (3:00 pm), Tue 28

Nov 2008: Tue 4, Wed 5 (3:00 pm), Wed 5, Thu 6, Thu 13, Fri 14, Sat 15
(3:00 pm), Sat 15, Sun 16 (3:00 pm), Mon 17 (Captioned), Tue 18 (3:00 pm),
Tue 18, Tue 25, Wed 26 (3:00 pm), Wed 26, Thu 27, Fri 28 (Audio
Described), Sat 29 (Audio Described, 3:00 pm), Sat 29, Sun 30 (3:00 pm)

Dec 2008: Fri 5, Sat 6 (3:00 pm), Sat 6, Sun 7 (3:00 pm), Mon 8
(Captioned), Tue 9 (3:00 pm), Tue 9, Tue 16, Wed 17 (3:00 pm), Wed 17

Jan 2009: Fri 2, Sat 3 (3:00 pm), Sat 3, Sun 4 (Last, 3:00 pm)

Public Information:
Book tickets online at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Box Office: 020 7452 3000, open 9.30am until 8pm
Information: 020 7452 3400
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk