Royal Shakespeare Company

69.

Mr. Carrington
To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on contributions made by the City of London Corporation to the Royal Shakespeare Company since the Barbican centre was built.

Mr. Luce
The City of London Corporation provided the Barbican theatre as a purpose-built London home for  the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982. Since then the RSC has enjoyed a rent which is low by commercial standards. In 1988 the corporation also agreed to contribute £500,000 towards the RSC's accumulated deficit.