An understanding of the impact that funding can have on theatre, and of developments in the five years since the Theatre Review, should result from Arts Council England’s forthcoming Theatre Assessment, ACE’s Director of Theatre Barbara Matthews has told AP.
Consultants Jodi Myers and Anne Millman have been commissioned to carry out the process, supported by specialist advisers Kully Thiarai (a former member of the artists’ group on the Sustained Theatre process) and Pippa Bailey (who specialises in circus, street art and experimental theatre). A quantitative evaluation will review the data held by ACE on theatre funding over the past five years. Qualitative evaluation will include examining case studies and consulting directly with the industry. Matthews, who plans to work closely alongside the consultants, says, “It’s not just about bums on seats, but also about where good theatre is happening and what the models are that work.” She points to the impact on theatre made by changes in local government funding, demographics and in the way artists themselves “are blurring the artform definitions”. The consultants are due to report in the autumn of this year.