The Stage: "British theatre continues to buck the recession, according to a new report revealing the resilience of the performing arts sector compared with restaurants, pubs and clubs.
Research published by market analysis company Mintel grouped survey respondents according to their leisure activities. Of those who go to the pub, 43% said they had already cut spending, compared with only 21% of theatre audiences. In addition, 5% of theatre-goers said they intended to go more, compared to just 1% of pub-goers.
3 comments:
After reading this, I wondered whether it was the same in America. I found a few articles addressing this same subject in the US, and it seems like a similar story - theatre is an escapist route for many. It's a historical trend, of course, that entertainment survives bad economic times because of this escapism, but you have to wonder what kind of theatre is being supported. Is it family dramas? I think typically it's feel-good musicals. I know that when my father and I went to NYC this winter break, he wanted to see some good ol' funny thing (The Addams Family, as it were) because he felt that he dealt with enough "depressing stuff" in his day-to-day life. So I think it's important to consider that a particular type of live entertainment is escaping the recession.
I'm not surprised. While one can go to the pub or a restaurant to forget their troubles they don't compare to theatrical show which just consumes your complete attention for two hours. You don’t have to do any of the work while watching a play or musical whereas in a restaurant you have to engage in conversation (usually about work or social life) when right now people don’t want to talk about those things anymore. As Emily said it is a means of escape from this bad economy. I wouldn't be surprised if the same is true to motion pictures.
It's a great article, but it's been written time and time again. Like Kelli and Emily said, people are looking to escape, and throughout history entertainment thrived in some fashion or another. I cannot exactly who said it in which show but "It doesn't matter how bad it gets, people will always need entertainers". I remember stories from my grand parents about the depression era, and how they would save up there pennies to be able to go to a show.
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