The number of plays and musicals staged by the UK’s main subsidised theatres last year was down by almost a third compared with 10 years earlier, BBC research suggests.
In 2024, the 40 best-funded theatre companies that make their own productions – ranging from the National Theatre to the Colchester Mercury – opened 229 original productions, compared with 332 in 2014, a drop of 31%.
Funding cuts and rising costs took much of the blame, with National Theatre executive director Kate Varah recently saying many in the industry are “at breaking point”.
But some venues said the shows they do stage are on a bigger scale than a decade ago, with the aim of running for longer on tour or in the West End.
Theatre industry’s financial pressures have had an impact on the workforce, with “chronic low pay, job insecurity, poor work/life balance,” and a reduction in opportunities for young talent.
Theatre has “a serious problem” with the reduction in opportunities, and if those opportunities are no longer there, then those pathways don’t exist.
Source link
