WEST END AUDIENCE RESEARCH

State of Play: UK Theatre

A report conducted by LiveAnalytics (Insight division of Ticketmaster International, Live Nation Entertainment), charting a number of recent developments in UK’s theatre industry.

Research highlights:

  • Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King listed as the top three shows
  • 16-19 year olds are the ‘most likely’ to attend the theatre whilst 45-54 year olds are the least likely to attend
  • Younger audiences are hungry for new productions and innovation in theatre
  • Only 1 in 4 theatregoers recognise they have been to a subsidised production
  • 63% of the UK population attended a performance at a theatre last year.
  • 36% would rather go to a new performance of a limited run than a show which has been running for more than two years
  • Around 39% of theatregoers love interactive theatre and over half think that streaming live performances is a great idea
  • Checking one’s mobile phone during a performance is considered the least acceptable behaviour, with theatregoers between the ages of 25-34 are most guilty of checking their phones during a performance.
  • One in five attendees now writes reviews about shows they have seen, generally using social media.
  • Just 26% of UK theatregoers (one in four) identified past trips to publicly funded theatre in the survey
  • The cost of attending the theatre remains the main barrier to entry among non-attendees (27%) and theatre-goers (35%)
  • Of foreign theatregoers interviewed, 62% said their trip to the UK was influenced by its culture scene.
  • 74% have dressed casually during a visit to the theatre and 41% have laughed in an inappropriate place
  • Over two in 5 – and more than half of female viewers – have cried during a performance.
  • 4% of respondents have used social media during a performance.

Published: 26 September 2013

LINKS

View the original research document here or see below