Arts Council England
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Public investment in theatre 'supports £2.27 billion of private sector activity', says new report
Yesterday Arts Council England published new research revealing a complex interdependence between theatre operators in the public and private sectors. Arts Council England commissioned 'The Interdependence of Public and Private Finance in British Theatre' in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome and the Theatre Development Trust, authored by Dr Stephen Hetherington, Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter and Chairman of HQ Theatres Trust.
Some key headlines include;
- Theatre subsidies in Britain, although only a small proportion of the finance employed, are shown to play an essential and critical part in the whole industry, supporting a national infrastructure and £2.27 billion of private sector activity.
- The report shows the motivations of both commercial and subsidised theatre producers to be very similar, both with a primary concern for the quality of work combined with the need to maximise earned income.
- Research shows a complex interdependence between theatre operators in the public and private sectors with each relying upon the other for the fulfilment of objectives.
Read the full report
To discover the research findings, you can download the full report here.
Dr Stephen Hetherington yesterday wrote: “The research was motivated by the observation that media reports on the health and fortunes of British theatre consistently presume it to be entirely about subsidy. From professional experience, I know this to be a profound distortion, seeming to ignore our long theatre history as well as the realities of creating and presenting theatre in Britain today”
Stephen Hetherington’s compelling report shows the complex interdependence between public and private financing of theatre production in the UK. Whilst public funding is a much smaller proportion of the overall investment in theatre, it plays a critical role in enabling the artform to flourish and indirectly supports nearly every part of theatre-making in Britain. We hope to explore this relationship further in the research we have recently commissioned into theatre production and attendance across England.
