ONE of Worcester's longest-running dramas has been the well-documented struggle for survival of the Swan, the city's last-remaining theatre.

As if echoing the highs and lows of any one of its many performances acted out on that old stage at The Moors, the recent story of the Swan itself has almost been a combination of Charles Dickens novel and Shakespearian tragedy.

Like the central character in Oliver Twist, the company has asked for "more" on several occasions. For example, Worcester City Council alone contributes £137,000 a year to the running of the theatre, the largest single grant it pays out.

Yes, that's certainly a lot of money. But it's perhaps worth pointing out at this stage that those who would baulk at amounts such as this should consider the alternative. And that is no theatre in Worcester. Does anybody seriously want this? No. Such a state of affairs is obviously not on the agenda. It is inconceivable.

Nevertheless, the Swan's future cannot be assured. For those in power currently making the decisions will not always have their hand on the purse strings. And, if there was ever a municipal change of heart about the importance of this city's theatre, then that is when a potential tragedy might start to unfold.

We could be talking about a play where there had been many acts and changes of scenery but where the final death scene might come with lightning speed. Omnes exeunt.

Just over a week ago, an important meeting took place, one that may mark the turning point in the fortunes of the Swan. A story in the Evening News, last Monday, reported how bosses at the theatre indicated that they welcomed plans to build a new venue at the Castle Street hospital site.

Proposals are in the pipeline to convert the building - which will be left empty when the new hospital opens next year - into housing, offices, a restaurant and a theatre.

Jenny Stephens, artistic director at the theatre, said if the plans went through it would be a real boost to the arts.

"There are certain things which we haven't got at the moment which could be improved on," she was reported as saying. "There isn't enough room for the young people's workshops and access is difficult.

"The building is great, but it is showing its age, and we all need to have better things for the future."

Mrs Stephens made her comments at a meeting of the community services policy and review committee. The committee had invited representatives of the theatre to the meeting to make a presentation on the work they do and achievements they have made.

In the future, the committee will have an input into whether the theatre receives any cash from the council. So you see, this was indeed an important meeting.

In recent times, the Swan has come on by leaps and bounds. Despite a populace that appears apathetic to no small degree, the theatre's profile, in many respects, has never been better.

The person responsible for raising the Swan's profile has been Jenny Stephens. Under her stewardship, the concept of working within the community has - slowly but surely - started to take off. Ideas such as the playwright-in-residence make the theatre credible, vibrant, contemporary and firmly in step with the rhythms of this city.

Policies such as this go a long way in securing the Swan's future. There are, however, other areas into which the Swan might venture should it decide to leave the Severn flood plain and set up camp on higher ground.

Films, for example. The major cinematic outlets in Worcester just seem to replicate one another. As far as I can see, they chase each others' tails with whatever blockbuster is flavour of the month.

Warner Villages is, without doubt, the most sumptuous cinema I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. For sheer comfort it can't be beaten. And the good old Odeon, in The Tything, does a magnificent job in presenting the latest releases to Worcester's public.

Nevertheless, both play safe. For where are the art, low-budget and sub-titled foreign productions? Why is it necessary to travel to The Roses at Tewkesbury, to see an offbeat film? And why were there only four people in the place on the night I saw the Odeon's presentation of Woody Allen's enchanting Sweet Lowdown - is Worcester really all chips with no fish?

I accept that cinema bosses must show films that will make money at the box office. But all the more reason why the Swan - should it make a move at some stage in the future - could start showing selected films on nights when there's nothing else onstage.

It doesn't have to be that arty, either. I recently travelled to Tewkesbury to see Grey Owl. The charming story of the early pioneer in conservation is hardly mind-blowing stuff - yet for some reason, films with a gentler pace seem to fall by the wayside in Worcester.

This is where the Swan could capitalise at some time in the future. Actually, there are a number of people I know who regularly make that 14-mile journey to The Roses. And what a good night out it is - a pint in the bar before the show, projector rolling at 7.30, film over at 9.30 and back in Worcester for 10 o'clock and cup of Horlicks.

The Swan could hijack those punters and stop them driving down the A38 - if it wanted to.

And, while we're at it, here's another issue. Worcester's Arts Workshop - what a non-event that's become. Since its heyday in the middle to late 80s when the city's former mime artist Mick Wall was a regular performer, WAW has become a shadow of its former self.

Talk about a vanishing act. Once, the building in Sansome Walk was buzzing with ideas, writers, artists. Now, it is a mere shell, a monument to what shouldn't happen to an organisation supposedly committed to the more alternative strands of the creative impulse.

I've lived in Worcester for 18 years, and for at least half that time, have noted with growing sadness and regret how a wonderful idea has gone into decline. The gap left by WAW has, of course, been filled. And the new tenant is the Marr's Bar, one of Worcester's biggest success stories in recent times.

Yet there's room for everyone. The same kind of entrepreneurial expertise displayed at Marr's, and most notably in the form of Chris Jaeger and Esther Blaine at the Huntingdon Hall, could one day - hopefully - propel the Swan to new heights in this city. Excluding Birmingham, the Huntingdon is now the premier music venue in the West Midlands.

But make no mistake, the Swan, flanked by two centres of excellence at Malvern and Stratford, has a tough task ahead. That is why the answer lies in Castle Street. And Jenny Stephens.