Ten years ago, the British Theatre Consortium produced a report, British Theatre Repertoire 2013, based on the most extensive and detailed dataset ever compiled on British theatre’s repertoire. The most striking finding was that, for the first time since records began, new work had overtaken revivals in the British Theatre repertoire.
A year later, BTC produced a further report, British Theatre Repertoire 2014, confirming that 2013 had not been a blip, and new work continued to dominate British theatre.
Now BTC has produced a report on British Theatre Repertoire in 2019, the last full year before the Covid shutdown, and 2023, the first full year after theatres reopened. Based on aggregated and anonymised data from 139 commercial, not-for-profit and subsidised theatres, in London and throughout the country, the report’s Ten Key Findings are:
- Between 2019 and 2023, the number of productions and performances declined but attendances rose.
- Musicals increased and Drama declined.
- New Work declined in the 2010s but formed a larger part ofthe repertoire after Covid than before. By 2023, the majority oftheatre productions consisted of new work once again.
- New Musicals increased considerably after lockdown.
- There were fewer New Plays but those there were had longerruns in fuller theatres.
- Revivals declined. Shakespeare dominated classical revivals,with a surprise winner in both years.
- The share of adaptations in the repertoire increased. After Covid, adaptations did better business in larger theatres.
- The share of plays by women increased substantially.
- The capital’s already overwhelming share of national theatreactivity increased.between 2019 and 2023.
- Contrary to popular perception, real-terms ticket prices fell