Letter: Victorian attitudes to RSC sponsorship
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Are sponsorship credits really as sensitive an issue as David Lister ('When the corporate customer cracks the whip', 24 March) suggests? What Royal Insurance and British Telecom and Northumbrian Water sell is self-explanatory. The corporate name prompts the RSC audiences, who are the direct beneficiaries of any sponsorship of the RSC, to think in a single thought about the product and the brand. There are few objections to this.
Sainsbury's household name immediately reminds theatregoers of the groceries and goods they sell. There is no apparent problem here, either.
Unilever, the RSC's newest, welcome sponsor, happens not in itself to be a household name. So why should it become distasteful to inform RSC audiences that their enjoyment has been made possible by the sales of Flora and Persil, the particular brands of groceries and goods that Unilever makes?
Surely, we don't still have the Victorians' need to drape piano legs, lest they should be distracted from the music by the spectacle of such vulgar limbs? Provided the tunes are not interfered with (and the RSC's certainly have not been) can it really be offensive to show what a helpful job the legs do in stopping the piano from falling over?
Yours sincerely,
DAVID BRIERLEY
General Manager
Royal Shakespeare Company
Stratford-upon-Avon
24 March
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments