Research note: the other side of the stage, revealing compositional differences in Flemish amateur theatre audiences

Abstract

This research note aims to address the lack of research focused on the audiences of amateur theatre and examines how audiences of artistic- (i.e. participating in festivals with high artistic requirements) and social- (i.e. not participating in those festivals with high artistic requirements) oriented amateur theatre groups differ. This is achieved by performing a quantitative study of eight amateur theatre audiences in Flanders (Belgium). Analyses of 538 standardised questionnaires derived from on-site data collection, show that the audiences of artistic amateur groups significantly differ from the audiences of social-oriented amateur theatre groups. Amateur theatre groups with an explicitly artistic orientation have a significantly younger audience that had participated in other cultural events over the previous six months. They are also often recruited by word of mouth. By contrast, social amateur theatre groups attract a significantly older audience, including those who live in the vicinity.