Chichester and Bath

As Chichester is very commercial driven i would say its audience is pedestrian

It is very rare you get a standing ovation in both locations and there is a very good reason for that.

Quite! I’m can’t comment on Chichester as I’ve only been once and that audience was a ‘South Pacific’ audience as opposed to a Chichester one I would say. My then 19 year old son definitely felt like the youngest person there on that midweek matinee. But Bath has a diverse spread of uni students, well off retirees, arts lovers, and folks from the numerous deprived estates on its outskirts all enjoying themselves. BANES are doing their utmost to keep cars out of the city so public transport is king (without being in any way resplendent). I would expect this to become an issue for attendance soon if they get their way. I can get there and back on the train from Weston in the week, but not at the weekend.

The amount of ageism on this board never ceases to amaze me, usually from the same people. If this was racism or homophobia the threads would be shut down quickly.

To be honest even the original post has undertones of encouraging ageism

I wrote the original post and I was not encouraging ageism. I'm d'un certain age.

I don't think it is untrue or ageist to point out that Chichester's main demograph is older theatre goers. There is nothing wrong with that. That's its bread and butter. It's not a mistake that their summer show is generally a safe classic musical that grandparents can take their grandkids to. The line of buses to pick up the pensioner tours after a show is evident to that business model. Chichester does them well though and their audience still want a solid production rather than something reheated.

I do think it might be changing though. The new regime's season certainly feels like they are less targeting a older demograph. But Assassins last year shows that less traditional material doesn't particularly sell in the main festival theatre as that was half empty.

I'm lucky enough to still make use of the Prologue ticket scheme for under 30s and I have never been to a show at Chichester where all the Prologue tickets have been taken. The theatre is next to a university so it's obviously not hitting this demograph.

I think that the average age of the audience will vary from theatre to theatre, but with a very broad brush, theatre-goers have generally been of the older demographic (I am a poor old pensioner - sob - myself), but when I started theatre-going many decades ago I thought then how old everyone (else) was. It is possibly partially down to students etc giving up on theatre due to family / babysitter / financial constraints, but returning later in life. There have been countless scare stories of how when "this" generation die out, then theatre will vanish - yet somehow it struggles on! I almost always prefer to see something new, or a new take on an older show, but my main worry is that there are fewer routes for advancement amongst the writers and practitioners now than there used to be. Many theatres cannot afford to take risks, and those that do find meagre take-ups on small scale successes - eg Operation Mincemeat. The bean counters have triumphed. I am sure that some of the smaller theatres in Bath will cater primarily for younger audiences, and I don't just mean the Egg.

I saw an excellent, re-imagined, tour of Oh! What a Lovely War recently at a private school venue. Before going, I was horrified at the poor ticket sales, but on the night there were numerous students, out-numbering the wrinklies (I am one, I can say that). No idea if there were on comps or not, but they were plainly sitting in areas not sold according to the online plan earlier in the day. The demographic there on that night was definitely young, but it was the oldies who had prebooked.

That’s what I love about going to Chichester. It is why Chichester is so endearing for me

I think the reason is the funding models of theatre these days. Theatre has become more and more expensive, locking out a significant portion of the population, including young people who generally have less disposable income. With the steep ticket price increases coupled with the unstable economy that has impacted young people in particular ways (housing, tuition fees, etc), we will see fewer young people attending theatre. Add that in with the cuts to arts in education - fewer school trips to the theatre, no drama in schools, etc - and we're seeing a potential huge impact on the demographic of future theatre goers.

Will theatre as a concept die? Nope. Will individual theatres suffer? Yes. Will the commercial viability of theatre be maintained? Less sure. We will likely, as a result (and we're seeing a lot of it already), see more commercial productions based on films and TV shows and other media, stunt casting in mediocre shows, and be left with little opportunity for new writing, experimental and diverse storytelling, risky and controversial shows, to be made and seen widely. Theatre has the potential to lose its power as a medium tbh.