__ Arts Council England Analysis of Theatre in England Final Report by BOP Consulting & Graham Devlin Associates 13th September 2016 i Credits Written and prepared by — Richard Naylor, Bethany Lewis and Caterina Branzanti (BOP Consulting) — Graham Devlin and Alan Dix (Graham Devlin Associates) Photo credits for section covers — Front cover: Requardt and Rosenburg: Motor Show – Co-produced by London International Festival of Theatre and Greenwich + Docklands International Festival 2012, Image © Stu Mayhew — Summary Report: Britain’s Got Bhangra – Rifco Arts, Image © David Fisher — Main Report: Dusk - Fevered Sleep, Image © Matthew Andrews / Fevered Sleep — Appendices: The Clarice presents: The Me Nobody Knows - College of Arts & Humanities’ image © Stan Barouh / Flickr creative commons — Technical Annex: Deblozay – Co-produced by London International Festival of Theatre and Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, Image © Photos Bushido Data credits The report contains statistics courtesy of: — Purple Seven (purpleseven.com), used under licence. — The Audience Agency — UK Theatre — Society of London Theatre (SOLT) i 4.1.1 Touring at the larger scale .................................................................. 32 Contents 4.1.2 Touring at the middle scale ................................................................. 33 4.1.3 Touring at the small scale ................................................................... 35 Executive Summary ............................................................................................ i 4.2 Collaborations ..................................................................................... 35 How was the research undertaken ........................................................................ i 4.2.1 There is a trend towards cross-sector collaboration ........................... 35 The structure of the report and how to read it ....................................................... i 4.2.2 Collaborations between the subsidised and commercial sector ......... 37 The main findings of the report .............................................................................. i 4.2.3 Collaborations with Higher Education ................................................. 38 Finances in the English theatre sector .................................................................. i 4.3 Theatre Programming ......................................................................... 39 Mapping the sector ............................................................................................... ii 4.3.1 Reduced public funding is limiting theatres’ capacity to take risk Further detail on production & presentation ........................................................ iii individually and is impacting on their programming ............................ 39 Further detail on audiences ................................................................................. iv 4.3.2 New work and new writing are strong within overall theatre Analysis of Theatre in England: Summary Report ......................................... 1 production ........................................................................................... 41 Analysis of Theatre in England: Main Report ............................................... 10 4.3.3 Programming for a diverse audience .................................................. 42 1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 11 4.3.4 New artistic forms & the influence of digital technology ..................... 44 1.1 The Brief ............................................................................................. 12 4.4 Growing and diversifying income ........................................................ 45 1.2 How was the research undertaken ..................................................... 12 4.4.1 Increasing ticket prices/yield ............................................................... 45 1.3 The structure of the report & how to read it........................................ 13 4.5 Workforce development ...................................................................... 47 2. Finances in the English theatre sector .......................................... 14 4.5.1 Widening gap between skills demand and supply .............................. 47 3. Mapping the Theatre Sector: Production, Presentation and 4.5.2 Skills and diversity gaps in leadership ................................................ 47 Audiences ......................................................................................... 16 4.5.3 Sector training and CPD provision remains ad hoc ............................ 48 3.1 Venues and production companies .................................................... 17 4.6 Workforce diversity ............................................................................. 48 3.2 The Sector’s output: performances and productions ......................... 23 4.6.1 Workforce diversity (ethnicity and disability) has improved in 3.3 Theatre audiences and their regional distribution .............................. 24 recent years, but more needs to be done ........................................... 49 3.4 The relationship between supply and demand .................................. 29 4.6.2 Further details on workforce diversity ................................................. 50 4. Further detail on Theatre Production and Presentation .............. 32 5. Further detail on Theatre Audiences .............................................. 52 4.1 Touring ............................................................................................... 32 5.1 Audience diversity ............................................................................... 52 ii 5.1.1 Expanding the ethnic diversity of audiences remains a challenge .... 52 While BAME staff in theatres are not all working in low level positions, overall BAME leadership remains rare ............................................... 87 5.1.2 There has been some success in reaching out to younger audiences ........................................................................................... 53 People with disabilities continue to be under-represented both among the general permanent workforce and within leadership .......................... 87 5.1.3 Theatres also struggle to reach audiences with disabilities ............... 54 The gender distribution among the theatre workforce overall is balanced, 5.1.4 Ongoing concern about reaching out to audiences from different but there are still imbalances at the top .............................................. 88 socio-economic backgrounds ............................................................. 55 Socio-economic disadvantage is increasingly becoming a concern .................. 89 5.2 Audience development ....................................................................... 56 Appendix 7: Other factors affecting theatre attendance .............................. 93 5.3 Theatres’ awareness of their civic and social roles ............................ 57 Audience motivation is complex, with social interaction among audiences Appendix 1: Marketisation & Polarisation ..................................................... 59 considered as an important aspect of theatre attendance.................. 93 Polarisation into ‘winners and losers’? .............................................................. 65 The popularity of different theatre genres across society and the regions ........ 94 Appendix 2: Sector collaboration: other benefits and requirements Appendix 8: Audience development & communications ........................... 100 for success ....................................................................................... 72 The theatre sector recognises the importance of audience development ....... 100 The sector recognises a wide range of benefits in collaboration ....................... 72 Challenges to addressing existing audience patterns persist .......................... 101 Requirements for making collaborations work................................................... 73 New approaches in audience development ..................................................... 104 Appendix 3: New artistic forms & the influence of digital technology ...... 74 Audience development in the future ................................................................. 107 Site-specific theatre and immersive theatre ...................................................... 74 Appendix 9: The awareness of theatres’ civic and social roles ................ 108 Digital distribution is splitting opinion in the sector ............................................ 76 Theatres’ deeper involvement in their local communities ................................ 108 Appendix 4: Ancillary business development & new organisational models ............................................................................................... 80 Communities supporting their theatres ............................................................ 110 Social Enterprise and ancillary business development ..................................... 80 A need for recognition by the Arts Council ....................................................... 111 New organisational models................................................................................ 81 Appendix 10: Case Studies ........................................................................... 112 Appendix 5: Sector training, CPD & talent development