Danny Boyle champions regional theatre The Oscar-winning director said theatre around the country offered people escapism that was not football or the pub, and could provide young people with jobs It's something in our cities and towns that's nurtured that isn't Wetherspoons and Walkabout pubs, Mario Balotelli and John Terry. He added it offered "something decent to believe in. Something good and nourishing for us all that leads to something we thought we'd want to represent in the opening ceremony. Region theatre bosses have been left scratching their heads at a Government that championed the creativity of the Olympic opening ceremony but has continued to slash funding for cultural institutions around the country. Yesterday, Boyle gave an impassioned plea to support the under-fire groups in his first public appearance since the Games, and said regional theatre had played a critical part in shaping the ceremony, adding: "My journey to the Olympic opening ceremony began at the Bolton Octagon." The regional theatre is "the modest cousins of football, whose attendances they equal, cinema and pop music," the director said. What they provide is something else to believe in, and we must believe in it as well otherwise we'll lose it. He said that following the championing of culture in the wake of the ceremony and the Cultural Olympiad, "we must not let it go. We mustn't be defensive, you can grow and build communities through investment in the art. The Slumdog Millionaire director said the Government had a responsibility to make "modest but sustained investment" in the arts. You can clearly see the benefits from it. We lack infrastructure around the country where especially young people can find a home. Artistic and executive directors from theatres around the UK gathered yesterday at the National Theatre to outline the issues their organisations face and the importance of culture in the regions in the face of devastating cuts. Tom Morris, artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, said institutions were confused at how to get the message across to politicians after the Government's embrace of the ceremony. "It seemed the Government turned the corner in understanding investment in culture in a very, very big way," he said before adding: "Now we seem to be in the same old place of making the micro argument for the infrastructure that is entirely necessary for us to do another opening ceremony in 20 years" time." Last month, Sir Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, said there was a "clear and present danger" to theatres outside London given the cuts from The Arts Council and local authorities. He pointed out 0.1 per cent of total public spending goes on the arts and with philanthropic donations, 80 per cent go to institutions in London. Daniel Evans, artistic director of Sheffield Theatres, said: "Imposing disproportionate cuts upsets the balance" of regional theatre. He continued. In the short term it will decimate our community but in the long term it will have a greater effect on the sustainability and the future of the arts in the UK. Sir Nicholas said that despite the Government telling regional institutions to "get better at asking" for private donations, "it has done next to nothing to encourage philanthropy" dubbing the calls a "smokescreen." He added: "Please try to uncover a single concrete policy that has arrived over the last two and a half years to encourage philanthropy." Gemma Bodinetz, from the Liverpool Playhouse, said sustained Government and local government funding over the past 10 years helped build a strong theatre culture in the city. She said the theatres were a "small but crucial part of civic pride in Liverpool. We are not dusty reppy buildings putting on plays in sets with creaky French windows performing in front of an apathetic, half-asleep bourgeoisie. We are vibrant. The companies added that they feed an "ecology" of local companies and artists. The Liverpool theatres have also seen young people sign up to train as lighting technicians after showing them how to light their football pitches to play at night. Ms Bodinetz added: "We need governments to talk to us and hear the small stories, not just the figures." Erica Whyman, the artistic director of Northern Stage, said the cultural institutions had transformed Newcastle and Gateshead and "allowed the place to think differently about itself." Yet Newcastle City Council has to consider cutting its arts budget totally in the next three years she said following the pressure on its spending. "If they take that decision, or even not as bad as that, it will devastate the cultural landscape and that place that I love will look very different," She said. David Thacker of the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, said the institutions were not "crying wolf." He added: "The kind of theatres we're passionate about are in severe danger and the smallest cut could have a catastrophic effect." Tom Morris, artistic director, Bristol Old Vic We are confused over how to make the case [for funding]. One of the reasons for that is because this is happening in the year it seemed the Government turned the corner in understanding investment in culture in a very, very big way. The opening and closing ceremonies and the Cultural Olympiad were seen as good for the country, good for the economy and good for defining the nation as enabled by its creativity. If you were a Martian landing in Britain and wanted to advise this country on what it should invest in to become the best version of itself it can be, you would say invest in culture. And at a headline level in those brilliant ceremonies and that brilliant festival the government seemed to understand it. But now we seem to be in the same old place of making the micro argument for the infrastructure that is entirely necessary for us to do another opening ceremony in 20 years time. And the frustrating thing from our point of view is the leadership of the government seems to understand this. The day after Danny's ceremony David Cameron had a trade fair in London to invite entrepreneurs and stock investors from all over the world to invest in British culture because he understood that the ceremony had put us in the global spotlight as a creative nation. Why can't we get that thinking to join up with the basic thinking of the tiny amounts of money we need to keep running our theatres? It seems to me that one tactic is to out David Cameron as an investor of public subsidy in the arts, because he is [with the Olympic opening ceremony]. He did it, it worked, he celebrated it. Clearly he already understands the value of that but there is still a fear it doesn't play so well if you say it. I think the success of what happened this summer has really overcome that fear. I think the people who come up and thank Danny in the street have been empowered to feel proud of this country in a way for a long time politicians feared they wouldn't be. We should say: "you've done it already. Keep doing it. Stop pretending you're not doing it.