New ways to evaluate theatre

Key funding bodies have a “narrow focus… on easily countable but fairly crude outputs” such as audience numbers and demographics and box office revenue, according to a new theatre handbook. Commissioned by the Independent Theatre Council and the Society of London Theatre/Theatrical Management Association in collaboration with the New Economics Foundation, the handbook is designed to help theatre organisations understand how audiences experience their work and to help them explore what makes a ‘good’ theatre experience. It analyses the kinds of evaluation currently prevalent within the theatre sector, and criticises the “detrimental effects” of the need for box-ticking on artistic endeavour and motivation. It suggests a new, more qualitative way of collecting data via an audience questionnaire, the ‘Audience Experience Framework’, in order to provide a new format for evaluation. The survey asks audiences to rate their experience of: engagement and concentration; learning and challenge; energy and tension; shared experience and atmosphere; and personal resonance and emotional connection.

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