Audiences for live theatre in Britain: The present situation and some implications

Abstract

Live theatre in Britain is performed by a host of companies in purpose‐built theatres as well as ad hoc venues. Theatre performances take place all over the country, in rural settings as well as urban environments, and no one will be more than 30 miles from a performance of some sort at some time in the year. In a typical year, over one third of the adult population attend live theatre, and 6 per cent attend opera or ballet, which tend to be presented in urban centres. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport sets store on the importance of the cultural sector and is encouraging arts organisations to develop new audiences in a host of ways. This chapter of Cultural Trends reviews the available statistics for theatre attendance, considering raw numbers of attenders, ticket revenue, ticket prices and the types of work which are most popular in London and elsewhere. It identifies the sources of information available, although it asserts that the available data are insufficient to describe the sector fully. While pointing out that regional theatre is clearly targeting the future audiences, with as many as one quarter of its performances being aimed directly at young attenders, the chapter also indicates the extent of reliance, especially in the West End of London, on musicals. An analysis of ticket prices shows that these have been, and are, rising faster than inflation. Coupled with the fact that, in the regions at least, it remains the older and better‐educated who attend theatre, this does nothing to diminish the concern that theatre may increasingly become the activity of a narrowing band of society, and that it is becoming less and less available to the broad spectrum of the population.