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A new report by Arts Council England (ACE) provides a revealing snapshot of the state of English subsidised theatre prior to the full implementation of its national policy for theatre. It summarises the findings of a survey conducted in 2002 amongst 147 regularly funded theatres, who provided data about their activities for the financial year 2001/2002, prior to a £25m boost in Government funding for the sector from 2003/2004.

The aim of the study was to provide a baseline against which the impact of the Theatre Review and the resulting funding could be measured and financial health could be monitored. It was found that, over the financial year 2001/2002 almost half of all theatres reported making a loss and 43% a profit, though there were substantial differences between types of organisation. Over 16% reported an accumulated surplus of £100,000 or more including some with profits of over £1m. Producing/presenting venues (47%) and producing theatres (38%) were most likely to report a deficit that year, with the sector average being 23%, and presenting venues, promoters and festivals reporting the highest reserves.

The survey explored the eight priorities outlined in the new policy, starting with its first priority, ?to create a better range of high quality work?. Based on the assumption that an increase in measurable outputs can indicate a increase in quality, data relating to types of production, production budgets and time allocated to research and development and rehearsals were gathered. 22% of work produced was found to be ?new work?, with new commissions representing 11%. Significantly more time was spent rehearsing than on research and development. One in four organisations was unable to estimate its production budget for the year, or did not have one, and expenditure among others varied widely, with producing theatres having larger budgets than others.

In relation to the objective of attracting more people to theatre, it was found that around two thirds of all available tickets were sold for performances in 2001/2002. However, few theatre venues used their premises solely for their own productions and performances, and 84% indicated that the public used their venues for other purposes including restaurant facilities, community groups, public meeting spaces, conferences and retailing. Over two thirds of organisations undertook some work that involved education, though only six in ten organisations employed at least one designated education specialist. One in four organisations undertook an overseas tour, with the most popular destination being Eire (7%), followed by the USA, France and Germany (all 5%).

Although all of ACE?s 222 regularly funded clients were asked to supply information, only two thirds did so, and response rates varied from 100% in the South West to 52% in the Southern and South East region. An employment profile of those who did respond found that nearly two thirds of permanent theatre staff were female, but almost two thirds of boards and management committee members were male. 92% of permanent staff were white, the same proportion for boards and management committees. Four out of five organisations arranged for employees to undertake professional development or formal training that year.