What nonsense. The book was written without government underwriting. If someone saw profit potential in bringing it to the stage, they could do so (obviously) without government funding. And they could make a lot more money.
RE: . If someone saw profit potential in bringing it to the stage, they could do so (obviously) without government funding. And they could make a lot more money.
Same principle applies to Sesame Street.
If you can get a government grant at either better terms than a bank would give or even for free with no repayment at all, you get bigger profit than if you got that money from a bank or an investor. Such is the nasty siren song of socialism and fascism.
Cameron Mackintosh wasn’t running any sort of charity, but he got good bang for his buck teaming with the RSC.
RE: The book was written without government underwriting.
___________________________________
Yep. And Victor Hugo was not even sure if Les Miserables was going to be a commercial success.
The shortest correspondence in history is said to have been between Hugo and his publisher Hurst and Blackett in 1862.
Hugo was on vacation when Les Misérables was published. He queried the reaction to the work by sending a single-character telegram to his publisher, asking “?”.
The publisher replied with a single “!” to indicate its success.