Fundraising, which includes money from individuals, companies and charitable foundations, grew by 28% to £4.1m. The company said it now generated 73% of its own income, including through box office cash, trading income from other sources - such as restaurant money - and fundraising. The RSC said the other 27% mainly came from Arts Council England.
Mac Cancel - Fleetwood Mac have cancelled shows in Australia and New Zealand after bassist John McVie was diagnosed with cancer. A statement on the band's Facebook page apologised to fans for cancelling the 14 dates in November and December as part of their world tour. Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham said they hoped fans "will join us in wishing John and his family all the best." The band have been on tour since April, and played in Amsterdam on Saturday.
Off The Road - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Live!, a touring stage show based on Douglas Adams cult book, has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The Radio Theatre Company, which produced the show, said it regretted the cancellation, which was announced ahead of a performance in Crawley. "In the last 24 hours we have had no option but make the extremely hard and painful decision to stop the tour." All remaining dates in October and November tour have been pulled.
In The Courts - Producer Quincy Jones is suing the estate of the late Michael Jackson for millions of dollars. He says the singer's estate and Sony Music Entertainment improperly re-edited songs to deprive him of royalties and production fees. Jones says they also broke an agreement giving him the right to remix master recordings for albums released after Jackson's death in 2009. He produced some of Jackson's biggest sellers including Off the Wall and Thriller. The Jackson estate said that it was saddened by the lawsuit. "To the best of its knowledge, Mr Jones has been appropriately compensated over approximately 35 years for his work with Michael," a statement said.
Awards Update - A new category honouring musical theatre performers has been added to this year's London Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The best musical performance section has been announced as part of the longlist for the awards, which take place on 17 November.
Rocketman - Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy will play Sir Elton John in a biopic of the singer's life called Rocketman which is being made with the co-operation of Sir Elton, who is an executive producer on the project. It will begin shooting in late 2014.
Cultural Affairs - A £4 concert space built to house concerts during Derry-Londonderry's City of Culture celebrations is to be demolished in January at a cost of nearly £450,000. The decision to close The Venue on the site of the former Ebrington Barracks, which has hosted high-profile large-scale events since opening earlier this year, has been taken by the Department of Social Development after it failed to attract interest from the private sector that would have allowed it to continue. A meeting to explore future use of the site earlier this month was attended by just one potential private investor. The decision is the latest blow to the year-long event which has seen lower-than expected ticket sales and resignations from its governing board.
(Jim Evans)
