Audience development

Post-pandemic audiences for live music and theatre are returning at a slower rate than for cinema and exhibitions, according to new analysis of DCMS data.

The study published by Data Culture Change in partnership with the Campaign for the Arts, covers the nine artforms included in the DCMS Participation Survey of audiences in England, looking at participation data for October 2021 to June 2022.

The data shows a positive upward trajectory for audiences, but the recovery is uneven.

Of the less popular artforms covered in the data, craft exhibitions, live dance and street arts events are recovering at a slower rate than events connected with books and writing.

Campaign for the Arts Director Jack Gamble said: “We all know that the pandemic had a big impact on people’s ability to organise and engage with arts events, but this report shows just how considerable that impact was, and that the ripples are still being felt.

"It’s encouraging to see a trend towards increased participation overall, but it’s a much slower recovery for some artforms, and especially in light of the energy and cost-of-living crisis, we need to ensure that the trend towards recovery can continue.”

Eight theatres around Europe are participating in a new project that will create texts on diverse and inclusive topics for young theatre audiences across the continent.

Young Europe IV is the fourth edition of European Theatre Convention’s Young Europe project, which has been running since 2008.

It will see the Belarus Free Theatre, which is currently based at London’s Barbican Centre, work alongside theatres in Germany, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and the Netherlands.

The new, diverse plays will cover issues from mental health to sexuality to the Israel-Palestine conflict and will be performed in school classrooms across Europe.

A separate strand of Young Europe IV, the Forgotten Plays Committee, will select and revive dramatic work by writers from non-dominant backgrounds that have been overlooked, either because of the background of the playwright or theme of the play.

Artistic Lead on Young Europe IV Paulien Geerlings says the European theatre world currently remains the white, heterosexual, male gaze that determines our experiences.

“Women, BIPOC, the LGBTQIA+ community…everyone needs to see themselves represented in the stories that are told. If there is hardly any representation, and the representation that does exist always confirms the same (often problematic) stereotype, as a person or child belonging to a marginalised group you cannot relate to the multitude of possibilities your counterparts are provided with. 

“That is why it is time for a new repertoire – to stop people from being reduced to the ‘single story’ that they have heard all of their lives.”

An online launch event is scheduled for Thursday (6 October) evening.

The National Theatre is extending its Theatre Nation Partnership (TNP) network to include every region in England.

Theatres in Leicester, North Devon, Peterborough, Stoke-on-Trent and Trowbridge are joining the network, taking the total number of TNP partner organisations to 14.

TNP was founded in 2017 in a bid to grow nationwide engagement with theatre and is estimated to have engaged with over 222,000 participants, audiences and artists since its inception.

The National Theatre says its 14 partner organisations will now "engage over half a million people over three years, more than doubling the existing reach of the network."

Plans include taking three productions into schools and showcasing Roy Williams’ Sucker Punch nationally across nine TNP organisations.

TNP has been supported by a £1.25m award from Arts Council England, with the National Theatre tripling this investment through fundraising and commercial activity. Almost 90% of total spend will be aimed at partner areas.

“Theatre Nation Partnerships has shown how effectively a network of theatres can work together to inspire new audiences for theatre, deepen roots within communities and create more opportunities for the next generation to engage in the arts,” National Theatre Director Rufus Norris said.

Two theatres in Bradford have received more than £180,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help them explore their history.

St George’s Hall, which opened in 1853, has hosted big names including Charles Dickens, Harry Houdini and David Bowie.

The Alhambra Theatre, built in 1913 and home to Bradford’s annual pantomime, has hosted acts such as Laurel and Hardy and Morecambe & Wise.

Yorkshire Live reports that the money will fund a a three-year project, starting this month, to develop and deliver “an extensive heritage activity programme”. The programme will look at, among other things, the lengthy history of pantomime at the Alhambra.

The cash comes from the Lottery’s Heritage Centre Stage activity programme. The Lottery says the funding will “unlock the heritage associated with Bradford’s historic city centre venues and engage with a range of people in the district”.

Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places said: “Culminating in 2025 when Bradford will be UK City of Culture, we are thrilled to receive this award from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for our project; Heritage Centre Stage which will support a range of people from across the Bradford district to engage with the heritage in our fantastic, historic venues, in a way which has real meaning to their lives.”

Six projects designed to support heritage, culture and nature have received funding from the National Lottery to help communities recover from the impact of the pandemic. 

A total of £13.7m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has been allocated, including £2.1m to Leeds Culture Trust for its Leeds 2023 project, a creative programme that aims to "let culture loose" across the whole city. 

The funding will be used to help uncover hidden community stories, celebrate art, music, dance and industrial history; reconnect people with nature; explore the traditions and role of different cultures in Leeds.

Meanwhile, Derbyshire Dales District Council has been awarded £1m for its Hurst Farm Heritage Trail project.

And Blyth Tall Ship has been awarded £636,600 for its Blyth Heritage Community Response project, which will provide group activities to develop their skills and improve their own wellbeing and employability.

Other beneficiaries are Redruth Revival for its project Redruth Buttermarket: Rediscovering the Market Town, the Tweed Forum for its Destination Tweed: Source to Sea Restoration and Revitalisation project, and NatureScot for its Species on the Edge project.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “I am delighted that we were able to support these exciting projects, which put heritage at the heart of people and places. 

"It is so uplifting to see the continued ambition in the light of the impact of the pandemic and ongoing challenges, protecting our precious heritage and supporting communities to recover and thrive."

Live entertainment marketing platform Activity Stream has acquired mobile ticketing specialists crowdEngage and event and venue management firm Yesplan.

Activity Stream said the move will strengthen its offerings to the live entertainment and experience sector, creating the first company to offer solutions across the life-cycle of an event, from event planning, marketing, communications, sales management and customer engagement through to event delivery.

The new company now has a client base of more than 450 organisations around the world in 20 countries.

Einar Saevarsson, founder and Chief Executive of Activity Stream, said: “Our mission when we founded Activity Stream was to accelerate the digital transformation of the live entertainment industry by offering intelligent tools that any experience brand could master, afford and greatly benefit from.” 

“Our clients want to build stronger, deeper and longer term relationships with each and every one of their visitors. We allow any experience brand to easily join up their many data sets and customer touch points, to produce meaningful, personalised and relevant communications, that drives revenue and loyalty.”

“The addition of Yesplan and crowdEngage places Activity Stream solutions at the very heart of some of the world’s greatest events and experiences.”