Brighton’s Gardner Arts Centre is a model of clever interesting programming, but it’s closing because of money worries. “Thanks largely to the experience, intuition and artistic courage of the venue’s programmer, Claire Soper, the Gardner has built a first-class reputation. It stands for all that an arts venue should be – risk taking, finding and supporting the next Mark Ravenhill or Peter Brook. Its loss will be a calamity, not only for Brighton and Hove, but for the UK’s arts industry as a whole.”