More than 250 theatre managers attended the annual Theatrical Management Association (TMA) Conference in Cardiff last month.
Among the conference sessions was a powerful address by Radio 1 Producer, Devon Daley, supported by the Arts Council of England. Formerly the BBC?s Access Ambassador, Daley put the case for the programming of culturally diverse work in theatres. Aside from the political imperatives relating to funding, a strong business case was made for broadening artistic programmes, citing similar commercial sector moves such as the increasing attempts to appeal to diverse audiences through the use of advertising with examples such as the singing ?Howard? from the Halifax. Theatre managers were warned of the dangers of ignoring the marketplace and missing out on the ?cultural cash cake?, Such ignorance was described as ?morally bad? and ?? economically mad?. Although there is no formal report from the conference, follow-up to many of the subject areas will be published on the TMA website w:http://www.tmauk.org