A WEBF Article: Besties’ Manifesto for Sustainable Theatre
Besties, over recent weeks, we have looked at the risk and rewards in producing for and operating theatres in the UK, on the developing audiences and the rising to the challenges of global warming. Live theatre is a creative process, but it is also a business and needs investment to evolve and respond to the challenges. In this article, we set out our thoughts on what the sector needs to do to thrive and grow so it can deliver on the important social and community benefits that it is uniquely able to offer. We call it our Besties’ Manifesto for Sustainable Theatre.
With a national general election a month away, we call on the new government to consider and support these initiatives to help create sustainable models for this important UK sector with its economic, social and cultural benefits for the communities around each venue. SOLT/UK Theatre itself has its annual conference at South Bank on 3 June.
We focus especially on those regional venues with less than 600 seats that have vital roles for communities and are under the most threat. In a review of 330 venues who have staged an annual pantomime in the last few years, we found nearly 60% were under 600 audience capacity, with many smaller ones unable to support a pantomime run at all. Only around 70 venues had capacity of 601-1200 and around 65 had capacity over 1200. Even if you think that there could be a weeding out of weaker venues in communities with competing venues, the majority are going to need to change and evolve to survive and will need support and finances to achieve this.
Working collaboratively as a sector
There are some important influential organisations who shape the sector and represent interested parties who came together to lobby for the new TTR rates and need to continue to argue together for sustainable theatre in these regional venues. The HM Treasury, The Arts Council, UK Theatre, Equity, and the Theatre Trust all have an interest in protecting and supporting these venues.
These are some of the ways they could promote and support change:
There is real need for Government, The Arts Council , Local Authorities and National Lottery to work together to protect the smaller community theatres through joined up thinking and collaborative working to identify and support venues at risk with good local community engagement and work. Manifestos - SOLT
Organisations should sign up for the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation, the new UK-wide campaign to celebrate the impact of culture and make the case for investment which launched on 1 May 2024. The aim is to get culture and heritage organisations nationwide to come together to celebrate the impact they make within their communities - advocating to government and audiences for support.
Support the work of Data Culture Change, which is very valuable in addressing the needs to create a thriving cultural sector that is reflective and inclusive of society.
Contribute to the Arts Council England review led by Dame Mary Archer to reshape it so it is fit for purpose over the next ten years with less tick box bureaucratic form filling and a clear threefold focus of:
Supporting and developing financially sustainable venues and models of operation across the UK through its advice, services, and funding
Developing and staging new works that connect with local communities, tell global stories, and inspire the next generation to support live theatre
Promoting and protecting the heritage of British theatre through its support for historic buildings and the staging and retelling of classic plays from Shakespeare to Pinter and Bennett.
A balanced risk: Reward from Production
Theatres are just expensive buildings without the shows they put on which make them viable. A thriving creative production pipeline is essential to sustainability.
We need to see:
Maintenance of the new permanent TTR to support new production. Manifestos - SOLT
Celebrate and promote pantomime as a training ground for industry debutants on stage and backstage and developing young audiences. The UK Pantomime Association
Develop technical training courses and apprenticeships to fill the pipeline and develop the experiences of technical staff for theatre.
Encourage co-production by regional venues (such as the House Network in Southeast of England) as a shared risk to secure product that connect with their local demographics with a Government/ACE backed underwriting insurance style scheme to allow smaller houses to create touring shows at an acceptable risk.
Create a central UK depository for sets, costumes, and props, properly catalogued and available for hire to professional and amateur shows to ensure more is recycled and less goes to landfill.
Create a visual language to be used by venue to easily communicate the genre of the show and the audience behaviour expected and promote in digital marketing.
Embrace digital marketing to connect to audiences and drive awareness of show tours and the paid for ads on these platforms that can deliver good returns in terms of ticket sales.
Campaign for a rebalancing of risk: reward splits between upfront fees for rights holders/producers/creatives, pre and post recoupment royalties and the profit split of surpluses to them and financial backers .
For financial investors, invest through a diversified portfolio approach to theatre production with a producer with a strong track record. Fiery Dragons
HMRC to allow individuals investment in production to be treated like capital gains with losses offsetting profits.
Sustainable Venues - Think Local, Act National
Local theatre can be at the centre of their communities as a meeting place and with outreach and community work that connects the local population, but they require investment to modernise and be more efficient and understanding of the local needs and how to connect to them. They should adopt a Think Local, Act National approach to target local audiences but using the strength of bigger organisations.
To develop this approach Venues, need to consider:
Understand their local authority strategic needs and work with them collaboratively to develop audiences and venue visitors.
Create Regional Hubs (such as The House Theatre Network that works across the Southeast England region) to support multiple small venues, including trusts and commercial operation, to drive programming efficiencies, provide economies of scale from shared back-office functions, but success will depend on the mix, condition and scale of the venues included in the cluster. Possibly buy food and drinks supplies centrally to drive down costs.
Adopt green practices in hospitality, for example: no plastic straws and Polycarp reusable glasses.
Work to create a safe space for Front of House staff to work and audiences to enjoy the show by training and communicating expectations and evaluating the risks for each event. Risk & Safety - SOLT
Encourage local authorities that outsource venue management to offer long term leases so that operators have incentive to invest in venue improvements.
Create a database of building maintenance and improvement grants funding availability and application dates. Wolfson/Theatres Trust Theatre Improvement Scheme
Expand The Theatre Trust’s Resilient Theatres: Resilient Communities programme to support more venues that risk slipping towards the At-Risk Register in the next five years.
Expand the Cultural Development funds under the auspices of local authority and ACE to support more investment in ageing venue infrastructure.
Identify locations and funds to develop a new generation of sustainable venues fit for 21st century. There is an opportunity to develop new cultural centres in town centres in mixed developments of old retail sites where local authority is landowner to develop modern functioning venues.
Audience development to improve access and diversity
With a fit for purpose venue and a flow of product, the key is then to develop audiences and connect with them to drive occupancy and frequency.
Venues should:
Consider creating regional membership schemes, with venues working collaboratively to drive frequency of visits across a community and promote awareness of what is on offer across the area.
Promote attractive pricing for under 30’s and accessible audiences, to develop the theatre going habits and increase frequency of visits. For example: Prologue at Chichester Festival Theatre
Commitment that every child goes to the theatre by the time they leave school by supporting schools visits to pantomime and curriculum-based performances in travel, pricing, and supervision. Theatre for Every Child - SOLT
Connect with key influencers in the local venue communities to establish their interests and create pathways to promote the activities in the venues.
Create events and programmes that bring a diverse local community into the venue like at The Beck Hayes for Bollywood Odyssey.
Experiment and consult with start times for performances to ensure that they attract the largest audiences. The National Theatre are piloting early-evening performances starting at 6.30pm, with further info here.
Green Strategy - Towards Net Zero
Underpinning all activity in the sector should be a commitment to drive awareness, good practice, and measurable carbon footprint savings to support a society wide drive to address global warming.
The Green strategy should include:
Secure commitment from Producers, creative, staff and audience to eco initiatives to drive awareness and commitment to change. Book One – Sustainable Productions | Theatre Green Book
Develop productions that raise awareness of the impact of Global Warming on communities.
Gather and publish data on the carbon footprint of the theatre sector and its progress and annual savings towards a Net Zero goal. Consider introduction of a measurement system like used in the Visual Media under Albert with its carbon calculator and certification.
Commit to a nationwide carbon levy on tickets with proceeds being ring fenced to fund green initiatives or buy carbon offset arrangements.
Establish Green Champions in each venue to promote changes in behaviours and processes. Promote green success stories and share the financial savings and carbon reduction impact of the investments.
Consider using the Display Energy Certificate process to help in measuring the progress in energy efficient initiatives and promote awareness.
Promote the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and the following of the principles of compliance within Productions and Venues.
Publicise the access to the Public Sector Decarbonisation scheme Phase 4 for Local Authorities to fund Green initiatives In Summer 2024.
Enhance and promote Eco Grant funding including long term cheap loan finance to support investment in green technology from Building Management systems, efficient heating and power plant, insulated buildings, and efficient recycling.
Support the SOLT & UK Theatre, in partnership with the Theatres Trust, proposed Theatre Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme to help theatres access the finance needed to make venues more energy efficient and to make immediate energy efficiency adaptations, such as the installation of LED lighting rigs. They argue £58m would support nearly 500 theatres in England saving up to £6m p.a. providing a 10-year payback and reduce emissions by 15%.
There is a great deal that can be done; some requires investment, others require changes in practices and more collaboration but the prize is huge with venues playing a role in the social cohesion, mental health, and cultural integration in the communities they serve. Making them financially sustainable so they can focus on serving their communities rather than survival could transform the local landscape. We need to create an ecology that successfully blends commercial ticket sales with subsidised access and outreach, and taps into individual philanthropy that can make a difference in these communities.
Nick Wayne
Nick has been involved in Producer and Venue Organisations for twenty-five years, seen over 1200 productions, visited over 160 of the UK Venues and directly invested in over 30 West End Productions