‘Variously at different times during my period with Sweatshop we had a management group and I suppose I lead it but it was a curious beast, we did operate collectively although there was leadership within that and the leadership changed depending on what was going on at the moment. In ’83: myself, Kate Owen and Philip Timmins were very central to it. It all sounded very shambolic but it worked. I know that after I left, the Arts Council as with a number of other companies, wanted companies to have Artistic Directors and although, there was artistic leadership always, but the structures within it weren’t as formal as they were later on. What was interesting about all of those companies was.. Oh Tierl Thompson came and worked with us, I poached her from the Women’s Theatre Group. She came and did admin for us, rather wonderfully. We all sort of did everything and I look back and I go, well actually, once those companies started having Artistic Directors, things changed, often not for the best really. But I think the Arts Council just didn’t know how to relate to us. They knew there was certain people that was key within the organisation but they couldn’t relate to us as bureaucracy to bureaucracy because there was no one with the title of Artistic Director or Chief Executive or da da da. It was more shambolic than that and I don’t think the Arts Council could deal with it. But you know we booked the tours and we did the publicity and did all the equity business and we raised the money and without those structures it worked perfectly well. We were all doing, working for no money, all that work.’ Noel Greig 2008
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