The Arts Council of Northern Ireland and a Belfast theatre company will meet next week in a bid to resolve an ongoing dispute over the council's decision to withhold funding for a play which is highly critical of the RUC.
Dubbeljoint Theatre Company has accused the council of censorship in withholding u £18,000 in funding for its drama, Forced Upon Us, which ended its sell-out run at the West Belfast Festival last night.
The council insists the play does not meet its artistic standards, with one external assessor describing it as "clumsy propaganda". A three-hour exploratory meeting between representatives of the two bodies yesterday ended without agreement. Both sides will report to their respective boards before next week's scheduled meeting.
The play, a joint production between Dubbeljoint and JustUs, a west Belfast community drama group, features the rape of a Catholic woman by a Protestant man. It was co-written by Christine Poland and former IRA prisoner, Brenda Murphy.
A spokesman for Dubbeljoint said the company retained the right to challenge the council's decision through a judicial review.