Joint Committee of Warwick University, school of Theatre, Performance and Cultural
Policy Studies and the Society of Theatre Consultants on
SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PERFORMING ARTS
Report to the Association of British Theatre Technicians.
The group have met several times over the last 18 months to address the issues raised by changing
economic circumstances, changing social patterns of behaviour and changing cultural offers,
particularly in the range of digital media. This report sets out a record of the work completed so far
in acknowledgement of the generous funding and support provided by the by the ABTT.
The consideration of these complex and often ephemeral aspects of Sustainability arise out of
concerns expressed by those working in the creation of business plans and cultural policy for new
and existing places for the performing arts. The work is intended to compliment the work of the
ABTT and other bodies in respect of the Environmental Sustainability of buildings for the performing
arts and for the methods of production.
The committee is a broad church and has held seminars in which members of the ABTT, Theatres
Trust, Theatre and Arts Centre Managements, Architects and Theatre Consultants have participated
together with academics in the field of theatre history and cultural policy. A list of participants in
meetings and others providing evidence to the committee is appended.
As one would expect within an academic methodology an early task was that of reviewing the
literature and that task was undertaken by the specialist Performance Studies librarian at the
university Richard Perkins with Dr. Tracy Cattell reviewing the material. The next step was to
identify the potential range of the study and the factors that might frame a body of information.
The committee have sought a number of independent reports looking at individual theatres, at some
new approaches to the performing arts and their interface with an audience. These papers are
being edited at the moment and will be published in the spring of next year.
The Committee has now reached the point that it feels able to move forward to begin the creation
of an information resource from which to identify transmittable ideas, best practice and other
examples to assist managements and policy formation in the future.
In conclusion to this first stage and in preparation for the continuing work the committee has
prepared the following paper to define the Objectives, Means and Scope of the next stage of work.
Objectives
The Committee has been created to provide a knowledge base for the long term sustainability of the
live performing arts and their buildings for performance, not in the sense of Environmental
sustainability which is well resourced, but in the more complex aspects of the economic, social and
cultural sustainability of an important industry and an important part of the fabric of our society and
a community’s sense of wellbeing..
The live performing arts are adapting to a changing economic environment where there will be less
support funding from taxation. In juxtaposition to this the success of a performing arts company
depends on a quality and quantity of work, developing over-time. Similarly performing arts
audiences depend on a continuity of supply to maintain the availability of a facility for social and
cultural enjoyment.
Socially the increasing level of ‘home/office’ isolation of people and the digital distance of so much
communication is leading to a greater need for direct social interchange. Two decades ago this was
most obvious in the success of the multiplex cinema with their dining and cafe areas but these have
gradually diminished as being non-core business and now many of the multiplexes offer merely a
range of films. The rise of the smaller independent multi-screen cinemas is, in part due to their
concentration on the social spaces and catering in their business model. Modern theatres and
adaptations of older theatres by comparison depend on the social spaces available to the general
public throughout the day both to serve the community and to financially support the performance
work. This places increasing emphasis on the proper operation of the food and beverage operations
that make social spaces convivial.
Culturally the live performing arts provide for the intellectual and emotional explorations and
expressions which link and form a community. Subjects can be explored in a theatre which would
cause mayhem if tried on the street. This safety valve and ‘trial and error’ development of cultural
norms of acceptance and behaviour essential to change in society and much needed to adapt to
rapidly changing circumstances. A similar function in emotional release caused by a play or
movement or music can be important to the individual, releasing tensions and changing mental
horizons. The live performing arts are, in short, a major component of the sense of ‘Wellbeing
‘which is becoming a measure for government.
It is unfortunate that the performing arts are often poorly versed in the language and thought
processes of other professions. The constant demand for subsidy (rather than research or
development funding for instance) has resulted in the assumption in government and local
government that the live arts need ‘subsidy’. This perception is of a never ending outflow of
government funds to support a tiny portion of the community. This assumption is often reinforced
by the performing arts community which assumes an inherent worth or one expressed in vague
terms or illustrated by apparently small events. The assumption of the continuum of support for
existing organisations can inhibit their artistic development. The Committee will seek to establish
new tools of communication between the performing arts community and government at all levels
with yardsticks that can be understood and appreciated by all parties within a framework of
language and concept that both can understand.
As a Joint Permanent Committee it will be possible to identify change over time in the sustainability
of the performing arts.
Means
The committee has prepared a number of exploratory papers identifying the problems and potential
of a number of venues. These will be published in the spring of 2016. In part this work has been
undertaken to identify the factual and statistical content of a database to give the clearest possible
picture of the field. This factual base coupled with subjective appreciations of the enterprises, both
external and from the managements within, will form the picture from which the Joint Committee
will distil guidance and best practice papers to help the industry sustain itself in changing times. It
will also form an authoritative resource for government and local government policy formation.
The formation of a sufficient database will take some time, though partnership with other
institutions we shall seek to draw on a great deal of already established data. The subjective work
will take longer and it will be least two years before there will be a representative body of
information available.
Dr. Tracy Cattell has undertaken the task of co-ordinating and linking the information together to
provide a resource for the Committee. As a long serving stage-manager, theatre historian and
academic she brings the necessary breadth of skills to the committee. She will be the core member
of staff for the committee.
The committee is preparing a questionnaire to solicit core factual information. This will be issued to
performing arts venue and producers and followed up by visits to complete the information. Visits
will be made to venues and managements to seek more subjective information within a matrix of
concerns and values already identified. In this work commercial confidentiality will be a significant
issue and the auspices of the University of Warwick, with its established codes of ethical
considerations and confidentiality, will be the repository and guarantee of that confidentiality.
The work of interview and collection of data will be undertaken by staff at Warwick University, by
members of the Society of Theatre Consultants working within the University framework and coopted people from a number of other organisations.
Scope
There are over 1,500 buildings in the UK that present live performance as the central purpose of the
venue in the community. They range in scale from the Royal Opera House to village halls and from
the highest levels of professional performance to unwaged performers working for the enjoyment
and expression the arts afford them. All are important to a community and together they form a
pattern of cultural expression that identifies a society.
The size of the undertaking is not to be underestimated. The main professional industry accounts
for 18.5 million visits to the performing arts in an industry whose turnover exceeds £400 million each
year. Almost half the population of the UK visits live performances each year (47.4% of women and
42.2% of men). There are collections of financial and programming information held by bodies such
as UK Theatre where patterns of regular provision of information and confidentiality are well
established. The more complex issues of catchment area, social spread in the community is not so
served by centralised information. The critical facility for sustainability is the inherent resilience in
the organisation and its adaptability to changing circumstances of all kinds.
The unwaged performance activity is certainly of a lower volume both in terms of attendance and
turnover but no less important to the communities it serves. In personal development unwaged
performance work is often very important and this importance extends to those members of the
community who find other means of expression difficult. Here too there will be issues of
sustainability and in the longer term the Committee will seek to expand the database to this sector.
Once the UK database is established the Permanent Committee will seek to obtain comparable
information from other countries.
Outputs
A series of reports will be generated from the more rapidly accessible factual data. These will be
made available to practitioners through industry associations and other bodies. They are intended
to help the industry to gain a wider appreciation of its scale and role in the community and to
communicate this to government at all levels.
The more subjective and ephemeral aspects of sustainability in the Economic, Social and Cultural
aspects of the industry will be conveyed in a series of Studies. It is anticipated that these might
contain vignettes of good practice or anonymised discussion of particular operational sectors.
List of Attendees at meetings of the Committee
Dr. Margaret Shewring, University of Warwick.
Etc.