Credit Crunch

March 2009

Interesting that as the financial crisis gets worse, most people in the theatre for children sector reckon that throughout 2009 more children’s shows than ever will be touring the UK. Arenas, number one theatres, middle scale venues, open air spaces, arts centres, civic theatres and halls will host productions put on by commercial companies, subsidised companies, regional theatres, specialist companies both building-based and touring, TIE and small-scale teams visiting schools and studio theatres. One-nighters (or one-dayers?), split weeks, full weeks. There has been competition for dates and concerns that so many productions might spread the audience too thinly. Two questions – why so many? And how will they all do?

First, why so many? When I started touring children’s plays nearly forty years ago, first with Cameron Mackintosh and then with Whirligig Theatre, we were sailing almost uncharted waters. Theatre-In-Education was developing healthily, going into schools, but very few companies were touring to theatres, most of which showed no interest in children except at Christmas. Compare that to the situation today, when many venues have education departments and regularly programme children’s shows. We really have moved on. And the quality of work is higher than ever.

And could it be, in these tough financial times, that our industry has cottoned on to the fact that family audiences can actually mean big business? It has long been accepted that without the revenue from the Christmas panto, most theatres would have great difficulty balancing the year’s books. Why not target those parents, children and schools at other times of the year? Why not play more matinees? Why not offer children’s workshops and drama clubs? Why not focus on children’s theatre productions as a valuable audience development resource?

If that helps to explain the rise in children’s productions on offer, the next question is, how will they all fare? The hope is that the last thing parents will cut back on, when forced to make financial priorities, is entertainment for their offspring, especially the very young ones. Maybe theatre for under-fives will become a growth area. School parties perhaps pose a problem. Are teachers going to dare to bother hard-pressed parents for money for theatre trips, especially if there are competing needs like computers or books? And will so many productions mean dangerous competition for audiences? Not necessarily. I don’t know the official figures, but children must make up a significant part of the population. There must be more than enough to fill every house if we can persuade them to come. They don’t pay for the ticket, so this means persuading adults – parents, grandparents, teachers – to bring them. This means theatres and producers improving their marketing and making a theatre visit economically as well as artistically attractive. And, in an ideal world, local authorities would subsidise in part or whole the cost of coach transport, which can often be the dealbreaker. Finally, is it too romantic to hope that the recession will increase the need for entertainment and make even more attractive the idea of leaving reality behind for a couple of hours? Might our audiences come in greater numbers if they see in us a ray of light in these dull, depressing, uncertain days? Time will tell.

Back to Articles