The northern theatre fighting "the rise of the far right"

It's also dealing with “the unconscious wages of empire”

Did you know that the taxpayer is charged £445 million per year for Arts Council England (ACE)?

ACE claims to invest “in artists and organisations that make and deliver exceptional, inspirational work for our communities”, but I’m not convinced taxpayers will agree after seeing some examples of what it funds.

To show you what I mean, last week ACE advertised an opportunity with The Javaad Alipoor Company, an organisation that claims to turn “mind-bending ideas into groundbreaking theatre.” It recently announced the world premiere of its “epic northern noir”, titled Elmet, as part of Bradford’s offerings as “City of Culture” for 2025.

The Javaad Alipoor Company is the trading name of “Northern Lines CIO”, a registered charity that receives £370,000 per year in annual funding from ACE (2023-2026). According to the Charity Commission, from 2020-24, the organisation has had £742,310 from taxpayers:

So what is this “groundbreaking theatre” we’re funding? Before taxpayers even see The Javaad Alipoor Company’s line up, they may be interested to know that the theatre has a “nine-point manifesto that drives everything we do”.