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Jerry Springer: The OperaLee laments success of Springer Exclusive

By Ruth Gillespie in The Stage Posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2004

Jerry Springer – the Opera creator Stewart Lee has revealed he is uneasy over the commercial West End success of his hit show. He admitted: “If I had known it would run in the West End as an independent commercial venture I would not have got involved.”
Lee’s comments come after he launched an impassioned appeal on behalf of the troubled BAC, where the show began its life, as he accepted the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Although it was developed at BAC and the National Theatre, the multi awardwinning production transfered to the Cambridge Theatre, owned by Really Useful Theatres.

He added: “I went into this project thinking it would be the usual two-month job and I don’t feel any more proud of it because it has become a West End success.

It is a great piece of theatre but a vast amount of work is produced in places like BAC for the specific community they serve and not with a view to providing a script that will give someone his next hit. It is wrong to justify the fringe as a support for the West End.” Lee confirmed that he would be supporting BAC in its campaign to make up for a #113,000 funding deficit after Wandsworth Borough Council decreased its annual grant in 2004.
This is expected to result in reductions to programming and outreach work and the theatre management is meeting on Monday to decide where the cutbacks will occur. The first fundraising event will take place in June with Lee organising a standup comedy show featuring Harry Hill and Al Murray.
Lee said: “Everybody is referring to BAC as a hot-bed of development on the back of Jerry Springer and yet it has just had its annual funding cut.  I feel an obligation to help out in some way.”

Written by Ruth Gillespie in The Stage on 26th February 2004. Filed Under: Interview, Jerry Springer: The Opera
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