Theatres worth £2.6bn
to economy, says report
by Charlotte Higgins, arts correspondent
Published Thursday May 6, 2004 by The Guardian
There may be plenty of sceptics who look askance at the £121.3m in public
money spent on UK theatre each year. But that figure starts to look surprisingly
good value when, as a report published today suggests, theatre is worth an
annual £2.6bn to the economy.
A study from the Arts Council England found that even a relatively small theatre such as the Derby Playhouse is worth £3.9m to the economy. Its subsidy for 2003-4 is £661,070.b
The West End accounts for the bulk of activity, with an economic impact of £1.5bn. In addition to the cost of a ticket, the average West End theatregoer spends another £53.77. Outside London, the figure is £7.77.
The research, by Dominic Shellard of the University of Sheffield, and commissioned by Arts Council England, looked at 308 theatres. It is the first large-scale study examining the economic impact of theatre since the 1998 Wyndham report, which looked only at the West End.
It took into account theatre staff salaries; spending by theatre audiences, including food and transport costs; and income generated by theatres from sales of tickets and merchandise.
Donna Munday, chief executive of the Royal and Derngate Theatres, Northampton, said: "Those of us in the industry have known for a long time that theatres have an enormous economic impact - and also social impact, in terms of maintaining sustainable communities. But the actual numbers are astonishing."
These findings are likely to play well at the Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for the next round of arts funding. However, Tessa Jowell, culture secretary, wrote in a pamphlet on arts funding published yesterday: "You can't boil down what culture does for this country to a set of sums."
A second study, also published tomorrow, examines the impact of the national policy for theatre. The policy, established in 2000, led to an extra £25m invested in theatre by the Arts Council England. The report, by Mori, found the extra funding meant theatres are commissioning more new writing, presenting quality programmes, and widening audiences.
Maggie Saxon, executive director of Chichester Festival Theatre, said: "The economic impact study is hugely important in proving we contribute much more to the economy than we take in subsidy."
The theatre won praise for last year's Venetian-themed season. Its funding increase of 84% allowed it to mount innovative work and maintain an ensemble of 54 actors. Ms Saxon said: "We would not have been financially viable without that money."
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