The Stage's Future of Theatre Conference

This year, The Stage’s Future of Theatre conference in association with Moor Kingston Smith moved to the lovely comfy seats of Soho Theatre Walthamstow. Our Head of Press Emma Berge was there to listen to the conversations, chat to industry figures and partake in the pastries (thanks Preevue!)

Focusing on audiences this year, the headlines were that we need to make theatregoing a habit, and that audiences need easy access, whether its catering for access needs or taking the show to them.

The keynote speech from  the RSC’s Daniel Evans, Tamara Harvey, Andrew Leveson kicked off the theme of the habitual theatregoer and theatre needing to be a “low friction” commitment. Comparisons were made to gym going, parkrun, music concerts and gaming, all on the rise at the moment, and the way they bring “belonging, habit and commitment that theatre often struggles to match.”

They also highlighted Marlowe Theatre’s current success in building new audiences, attributing it to the wrap around activity that goes with a ticket, making attendance about belonging and not just about seeing a show. Outreach activity was a theme picked up in the Building Audiences panel, with Sharon Gilburd from the new Welsh National Theatre highlighting free performances and work taken into schools. Rambert’s Benoit Swan Pouffer spoke about audiences as fans, echoing the keynote speech’s themes of belonging and habit.

Sessions later in the day delved into different audience demographics, with Ex-Chair of Stagetext Richard Lee making the point that the audience is not one block, it has individuals who need to be treated as individuals. He went on to describe venues’ lack of knowledge and clarity about their own access equipment, whilst writer and performer Ryan Calais Cameron talked about making works for the people that don’t think theatre is for them, and (in a nice shout out to hard working PR and marketing teams!) communicating it in a language that reaches those people in the right way. The winner of this year’s Big Idea was John R Wilkinson’s proposal that there be a grant available for venues to be able to make small but vital changes to make their buildings more accessible: "Two thousand pounds for a ramp and £2k for a platform lift shouldn’t be a big ask. It shouldn’t be a revolutionary idea."

Closing the event, Vanessa Williams and playwright Luke Sheppard brought up a subscription model used in USA and Canada, where audiences can buy a season ticket for six or eight shows, bringing the conference neatly back to the idea of the habitual theatregoer. 

Do you have any thoughts on this year's conference? If you were there too and have any thoughts to share we'd love to hear from you. 

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