More on television theatre and the lack thereof.

TV John Wyver provides a reliably thoughtful approach to Nicholas Hytner's comments about the lack of theatre on television and some extra news which I wasn't aware of:

"Funding, as ever, is also a factor, as we found last year when we had extensively developed a television version of Lucy Bailey’s glorious production of Uncle Vanya from The Print Room only to see it fall just before a formal commission because of budget cuts at BBC Four. Mostly, however, the absence of theatre on the BBC is a matter of will – or rather the lack of it. There is simply no deep and passionate belief that theatre on the screen can be exciting and challenging and rewarding and delightful and – and here’s the rub – have any appeal to a significant audience. That’s the ‘Downton ratings mentality’ that Nick Hytner mentions."

Yes it is and if even a television version of a critically acclaimed production Uncle Vanya can't be funded, the BBC's clearly become too blinkered to care and we're all left hoping that BBC Worldwide, Network or one of the dvd companies will be kind enough to make something available from the archives, because even these recordings are being ignored in broadcast terms.