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Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Production costs double in a decade as theatres brace for deficits – report
www.thestage.co.uk: Production costs have doubled in 10 years, according to a report that also warns that more than 50% of subsidised theatre organisations are expecting to run at a deficit
2 comments:
Thioro Diop
said...
It’s interesting to hear about the state of theatre in other countries, it makes sense that the uk is also struggling with the rising cost of theatre as well, the economy in a lot of countries isn’t really improving and the cost of materials and especially staff is becoming a huge hurdle for a bunch of places. I am happy to hear that the west end is retaining it’s audience numbers and breaking records(while receiving a pretty huge revenue 1.08 billion euros is a huge amount of money), it’s interesting to see that even with that huge amount of money even the west end declares that they’re in a fragile period, if they are like that I can imagine what other theatres In the area are in the same state as well. I do believe that their theatres can bounce back from this in a future year, it will just take some changes in approach and how they put on shows.
This article is one that came as no surprise for anyone aware of both the current economic state we’re in and progression of theatrical production. With that said, it still comes as a shock to read in such flat, factual detail. In discussing cultural progression of how we engage with art and performance, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend about the state of opera and ballet in the United States. It is not that these art forms are not valued, nor do they deserve not to be, but when it comes to both an economic and cultural standpoint, it remains a fact that accessibility is a major issue and reason as to why the disengagement with these art forms are rising. With an educational and economic crisis, theatre itself becomes linked to elitism and shoos away potential audiences. Digital media has taken over and while the vast majority of people still value live performance and theatre in general is not nearly as subjected to this as niches like ballet and opera, funding remains to be incredibly important in fostering both art culture and quality.
2 comments:
It’s interesting to hear about the state of theatre in other countries, it makes sense that the uk is also struggling with the rising cost of theatre as well, the economy in a lot of countries isn’t really improving and the cost of materials and especially staff is becoming a huge hurdle for a bunch of places. I am happy to hear that the west end is retaining it’s audience numbers and breaking records(while receiving a pretty huge revenue 1.08 billion euros is a huge amount of money), it’s interesting to see that even with that huge amount of money even the west end declares that they’re in a fragile period, if they are like that I can imagine what other theatres In the area are in the same state as well. I do believe that their theatres can bounce back from this in a future year, it will just take some changes in approach and how they put on shows.
This article is one that came as no surprise for anyone aware of both the current economic state we’re in and progression of theatrical production. With that said, it still comes as a shock to read in such flat, factual detail. In discussing cultural progression of how we engage with art and performance, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend about the state of opera and ballet in the United States. It is not that these art forms are not valued, nor do they deserve not to be, but when it comes to both an economic and cultural standpoint, it remains a fact that accessibility is a major issue and reason as to why the disengagement with these art forms are rising. With an educational and economic crisis, theatre itself becomes linked to elitism and shoos away potential audiences. Digital media has taken over and while the vast majority of people still value live performance and theatre in general is not nearly as subjected to this as niches like ballet and opera, funding remains to be incredibly important in fostering both art culture and quality.
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