Theatre touring 'in crisis' as performances of plays drop 70%

Theatre touring 'in crisis' as performances of plays drop 70%13 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleIan YoungsCulture reporterGetty ImagesMany venues have had local authority funding cuts, with Arts Council funding largely stagnantThe touring landscape for theatre, music, dance and opera is "in crisis" in England and much of the sector needs "urgent corrective action if it is to survive", a major report has concluded.Performances of drama plays on tour have seen the biggest drop, declining by almost three-quarters between 2019 and 2024, according to the State of Touring report, which was commissioned by Arts Council England."This steep decline is a long-term and continuing trend, which is likely to reach a critical level without intervention," it said.Overall, the system is "not entirely broken", the report said, but many tours have become shorter and more concentrated in bigger cities."Touring is generally in best health at the large scale: large music acts or musical theatre, in larger venues, and in larger urban areas," it said.Overall, the number of touring performances declined by 24% between 2019 and 2024.For drama plays, that figure was 72%, while musicals and dance each had reductions of almost 50%.The report said: "Mid-scale drama and dance, and smaller scale productions, work by disabled and Global Majority artists, emerging artists, and innovative work face the greatest financial challenge, have decreased most and are most at risk."'Radical rethink'Touring companies and venues have faced increased costs and decreased income, while existing challenges have been "accelerated and exacerbated by the pandemic and funding austerity", it said.Much of the sector "needs not just a sticking plaster but urgent corrective action", the report said."It is hard not to conclude that touring needs a radical rethink... Without change it is likely that a substa...