TiE Today in Wales, Author: Edward David Humphreys, University of Chester

5. Conclusion
As seen in the 1990s, the division within Wales caused fierce competition, which
resulted in theatre companies shutting and others becoming hostile towards each
other. From Tim Baker’s perspective, “The north is poor in baseline funding- not the
new money- in comparison to the south” (Wooster, 2007, p135). This is just one
example which divided the two halves of the country. It is imperative that this is
avoided and this means that the communication between companies and funders,
not just ACW alone, needs to improve.
In addition, due to the division over the funding crisis, this has resulted in a lack of
awareness for each other’s styles. In an interview with Jeremy Tuner, he discussed
how the influences for each theatre, again, split the country in half, with the eastern
side of Wales being hugely influenced by TiE in England whereas theatres in the
west, including Arad Goch, looked to Europe for influences in their styles.
Furthermore, it is important that Theatre-in-Education does not “gradually [shift] from
a movement to a theatrical genre… with well-known patterns and repetitive
methodologies” (Nicholson, 2009, p8). By sharing theories and approaches, TiE can
develop. However, to improve on the future of TiE, it is key to analyse “these earlier
paradigms [because they] will themselves contain the future, albeit they have to be
turned upside down first” (Johnston, 2005, p245).
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