Since deciding to close the Gate Theatre, which will hold its final performance this weekend, the team behind the 47-year-old cultural powerhouse have been combing through its archive. In the process, they stumbled upon a hand-written letter from the year 1997, made out to the London Arts Board (the Arts Council’s predecessor) regarding that year’s “staggering” decision to cut the Gate’s funding.
“The Gate’s record in terms of enterprise and imagination is unparalleled. To withdraw essential support from it is, quite frankly, incomprehensible,” the letter reads. “I urge the London Arts Board to reconsider its proposal. A crucial and unique example of living theatre in London is at stake.
“Yours sincerely, Harold Pinter.”
On that occasion, the funding was reinstated. But the letter has served as a reminder for the team; a radical place like the Gate could have closed in 1997 or 1984, or any year under any management. “We held on as long as we could have,” says acting executive producer Alice Linnane. “It's just that the dice didn't roll our way this time.”
Over its long history, the Gate has faced many challenges but also won many high-profile supporters who have come to its aid. The story of why it is finally closing is one that shines a light on the fickle, cyclical nature of British arts funding, and reads like its own five-act tragedy.
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