The actress Cate Blanchett has said that cultural philanthropy should be encouraged when government's find it hard to justify giving money to the arts.

She was referring to the UK governments plans to limit tax relief given to philanthropic giving and said that it is "not just about the money... but about creating an excitement around a work" saying that it helped to "ground" a work in society.

Ms. Blanchett was speaking ahead of the opening of a new play, Gross und Klein, a production by the Sydney Theatre Company, which opens tonight at the London 2012 festival at the Barbican.

She told the Today programme's Justin Webb that she had been "obsessed with this play in university" and its sense of alienation.

The director Benedict Andrews said the play is a product and creation of West Germany and reflects "a certain pressure and experimentation" that was in the country at the time.

Commenting on the curbing of philanthropic giving, cultural philanthropy should be encouraged when government's find it hard to justify giving money to the arts.

It was "not just about the money but about creating an excitement around a work in society," she explained.

This is an extended version of the broadcast item.

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