DERRY’S Playhouse Theatre is facing a further cut in its budget.
The Arts Council NI has writtent to 32 of the North’s largest arts organisations to plan for in-year cuts of up to 7 per cent to their budgets.
Those affected include the Playhouse Theatre in Artillery Street, Belfast-based the Lyric Theatre, the MAC, the Grand Opera House, NI Opera and the Ulster Orchestra.
The Arts Council’s own budget was slashed by 11 per cent in March.
Now the Playhouse is bracing itself for a 7 per cent cut in its annual budget which could lead to job losses.
The Arts Council had been asked earlier this year by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) to prepare for further cuts.
The department is headed by up Sinn Fein Minister Caral Ni Chuilin.
As a result, it has asked its major clients to consider how they might save money.
In a letter to each of the 32 organisations, the chief executive of the Arts Council, Roisin McDonagh, said that the cuts were deeply concerning.
She expressed the “shock and disappointment of the council’s board members at the magnitude of this cut”.
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