THE Arts Council is planning to scrap funding for nearly one in five of the theatres, orchestras and arts organisations that it supports. The cull, the biggest since the council was set up in 1946, is being described this weekend as a “bloodbath”.

Nearly 200 arts bodies are being told that their Arts Council funding will end from next April. For most it will mean closure or, at best, a struggle to survive.

Leading companies to be hit include the Bristol Old Vic, the oldest regional theatre in Britain, where Peter O’Toole and Prunella Scales learnt their trade; the Northcott theatre in Exeter, which reopened only last week after spending £2m on refurbishment and where Robert Lindsay and John Nettles once trod the boards; and the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford.

The illustrious National Student Drama Festival (NSDF), set up in 1956 and supported for half a century by The Sunday Times, will also lose its grant. Its alumni include Stephen Fry, Rik Mayall, Simon Russell Beale and Timothy West.

“The decision to cut funding with no notice whatsoever and to jeopardise hundreds of young people’s future in this festival is shortsighted and badly thought through,” said Nick Allott, managing director of the Cameron Mackintosh organisation, another supporter of the festival.

The Arts Council says the cuts are designed to concentrate its funding on organisations of excellence while penalising the average: “In the majority of cases this has been decided on the basis of . . . well documented issues with poor performance. It is the strength of artistic output.”

However, among the losers are two of the country’s best chamber orchestras – the London Mozart Players and the City of London Sinfonia.

“It’s going to be very serious for us now,” said Anthony Lewis-Crosby, who runs the Mozart Players. Past conductors include Jane Glover and it was recently described as “one of the best chamber orchestras in the world” by a leading German newspaper. The City of London Sinfonia plays at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Barbican arts centre, and is the resident orchestra at Opera Holland Park.

Otherwise, many of the victims detect a London bias in the decisions. None of the capital’s leading bodies funded by the council will lose its grant, although English National Opera faces a modest penalty. ENO, which was mauled by critics for recent productions such as Carmen and Aida, will have its annual £17.5m funding frozen next year, but after that it will rise in line with inflation. The council has spent more than £15m bailing out ENO in recent years so, insiders say, it was “unlikely to pull the plug as it had invested so much”.

Most of the other big arts groups, such as the Royal Opera House, Southbank Centre and Royal Shakespeare Company, will get increases over the next three years in line with inflation. The National Theatre will get a grant rise slightly above inflation to fund Sunday opening.

“The Arts Council is showing what a bully boy it is,” said Thelma Holt, one of the West End’s most noted theatre producers and a former chairman of the council’s drama advisory panel.

“They wouldn’t dare take away funding from any of the larger organisations because they would be able to put up a huge fight. So they have mainly gone for the smaller companies.”

The Arts Council, which distributes £1 billion a year in grants, argues that as well as “excellence” it has taken into account factors such as “broadening of audience”. It also says that these are “recommendations” and not final decisions.

However, victims of the grant cuts have only until January 16 to persuade the council to change its mind. They can argue only on the grounds of “flawed procedure” and not the council’s “artistic judgment”, which will make appeals more difficult.

The NSDF has already published a petition on its website demanding a reinstatement of the funding and reminding potential supporters of the short time left to appeal.

The Arts Council attempts to rebut accusations of a bloodbath by pointing out that there are many winners as well as losers. Slightly more than 200 of the organisations that it funds will get rises above inflation, with 41 of them receiving twice as much as before. The “winners” include the Roundhouse venue, in London, the Manchester Camerata chamber orchestra, Birmingham Jazz and Pallant House Gallery, in Chichester.

The letters to arts groups outlining the cuts will be followed this week by the British Council’s announcement that it is to abandon its arts departments. The council, funded by the Foreign Office, “exports” the best of British culture in art, drama, music and literature. In future the council will concentrate more on English language teaching and other education, notably in the Muslim world.

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