Levelling up UK Theatre

Just as much as I would love more London based theatre to be toured across the UK, it is also great that Theatre producers are now using Theatre's outside of London to premiere their work (no doubt for financial reasons). It's made a nice change that us theatre goers in the North have been able to see a number of great shows in Manchester (and Newcastle for The Drifters Girl) prior to a WE run and far more cheaply as well.

The national theatre is not just the theatres it also has all the supporting workshops etc all in one place. If you split it up you will lose that as individual companies and shows won't invest for the long term.

If you just rent it out you will end up with (insert name of long running musical you don't like) in it for years.

Saying every show has to be suitable for touring would constrain the designs far too much.

They should tour more but should also be taking risks some of which won't pay off. Therefore they should wait to see if they have a hit and then if they do, remount it for touring.

We also need to be careful not to dilute London as a theatre centre. Having a large concentration in one place must help it maintain its status as an internationally important centre for theatre.

To compete on the world stage you need a certain size. Broadway isn't going to be split up anytime soon.

To me people seem to being unreasonable. He has done 1 show with his wife in what 5 years?

People complain about the AD but then want to put in policies that would mean anyone else who might consider the job would have to choose over getting to work with their partner for 5+ years.

If he had taken months off to work on this at a different venue no doubt people (perhaps even the same people) would complain he was absent from his job.

For anybody interested, there is a VR tour of the new Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot -

www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/gallery/

A major reason for that is surely because the UK's transport system is so London-centric. I do nearly all my theatregoing in London because I can get there in just under an hour & the trains run late enough that I can get home the same night from any normally-scheduled production. Going to the theatre almost anywhere other than London means either doing a matinee, if the production has them, or having to stay overnight because the trains don't run late enough.

One of the first RSC shows I was taken to see by school was The Crucible. That was touring outside of the usual round of theatres:

RSC/Nat West Tour 28 August-8 December 1984. The Winter’s Tale and The Crucible. Venues:
28 August-1 September, Doncaster Road Baths S****horpe, Humberside;
4–8 September, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Sports and Community Centre, Northumberland;
11–15 September, Bassetlaw Centre Worksop, Nottinghamshire;
18–22 September, Ripon Cathedral, North Yorkshire;
25–29 September, Barrow-in-Furness Sports Hall, Cumbria;
2–6 October, Lodge Park Sports Centre Corby, Northamptonshire;
9–13 October, Royal Agricultural Showground Wadebridge, Cornwall;
16–20 October, Lincoln Cathedral, Lincolnshire;
23–27 October, Wessex Hall Arts Centre Poole, Dorset;
30 October-3 November, T P Riley School Walsall, West Midlands;
6–10 November, Stratford Park Leisure Centre Stroud, Gloucestershire;
13–24 November, Whitla Hall Belfast, Northern Ireland;
27 November-1 December, Morelose Sports Centre Workington, Cumbria;
4–8 December, The Dolphin Centre Darlington, Durham

Wouldn't it be amazing to have to this sort of thing happening again?

It certainly proves that it can be done if the will is there

S****horpe - I'm loving how our sensors work. Sorry for going off topic.

They still do small tours but the focus is on schools and young people: www.rsc.org.uk/press/releases/rsc-to-tour-the-merchant-of-venice-to-schools-and-theatres-in-autumn-2019

I appreciate this was nearly 40 years ago but it wasn't a small scale tour. It was truly ambitious in terms of using large spaces and making them work for two contrasting and challenging plays.

Yes, working closely with schools is important but taking good work to communities outside of the norm is just as vital

It never ceases to amaze me how much money some theatres have to transform venues and then transform them back again. The Old Vic and The Shed at the NT spring to mind. That money could be much better spent.

Isn't that a chicken and egg situation? Most theatre work is in London, so actors from London find it easier to get the work that keeps them in the industry and the experience that makes them good. Actors from outside London might want to live in the area they were born and have family, but unless they make good money from tv and film work, it's hard to get enough well paying work to sustain it.

A similar issue was raised recently when talking about the future of Hollyoaks. It might be an acting sausage factory, but it's an alternative way into the industry for many who can't afford drama school, or don't want to move to London. We need to keep these avenues into the industry open, and regional theatre has a role to play too.

I'm mindful that the 'levelling up' fund is as much about PR for the governing party as it is about actual levelling up, fairness or usefulness, so it may be optimistic to expect a meaningful strategy, but I think there are multiple ways to look at this.

Funding for regional theatre is one of them. Sprucing up some run-down venues would be good, especially if they can incorporate the now essential cafes and restaurants that generate revenue all year around and provide a bit of heart to a town. Just as a good panto run can keep a theatre going, the shows that run for the rest of the year boost local business. 

It may be that places like Croydon don't need to have dedicated theatre on their doorstep, but how about supporting the local drama clubs? Developing the next generation of talent so they can go on to take advantage of the work opportunities the West End has to offer. If you tied funding for theatres (the buildings) in medium sized towns with funding for accessible drama classes you'd create some ready made, locally produced content to fill a quiet week in the schedule.

The point about the additional costs of touring is a fair one, especially if the cast has London rent to pay while they're away, and money isn't the answer for performers who are tired of moving to a new town every week. In practice, it's often easier for the paying public to travel to theatres than the other way around.

I'd say we need more Rep theatre in the regions, but that's probably wishful thinking on my part. Would a hybrid rep work? You have the core actors who are involved in all of the productions, but you have the odd guest actor (possibly someone who has been on the tv) to keep options open and bring a bit of extra interest. Or have a base hub that's close enough to several suitably sized towns and theatres, so you can maximise the audience and actors can sleep in their own beds more often. 

This looks fantastic!