Why I’m Worried About Regional Theatre
THEATRE has been viable for thousands of years.
But we live in chaotic times where conventions and norms are disintegrating by the day.
Speaking at the Olivier Awards in London, Lesley Manville urged increased funding for theatres across the UK, highlighting chronic underinvestment in regional theatre as her greatest frustration.
Manville emphasised the urgent need to support theatres beyond the capital.
She’s right, of course.
This is not just a crisis for artists; it’s a slow-motion collapse of a national cultural infrastructure.
But when times are hard, why should you care? Because theatre matters. Culture is one of the few world-class sectors this country has left.
I have worked in producing and receiving house theatre education departments in Salisbury, Dorchester, Winchester, Colchester, and Lancaster. (I mention this only in case you don’t know and so you understand that I know what I’m talking about.)
Indeed, from Truro to Liverpool these provide training and opportunity as a key pipeline for talent, feeding Britain’s burgeoning television and film industries, too. True story.
It’s also the reason that the annual RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award is vital. The winner gets the chance to direct a full-scale, fully funded production.
Alas, these kind of opportunities for talent are dwindling.
And here we all are. Across the country, the majority of beloved UK theatres are struggling. It’s not only social change, culture wars, and pandemics that demand agility—it’s also shifting attitudes toward funding.
In the past decade, the economics have radically changed.
ACE’s airy “Let’s Create” strategy, now under government review, has failed to reverse the decline. It’s failed full stop.
This ‘Equality Action Plan’ nobly prioritises “underrepresented protected characteristics groups and lower socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Now, though, a panel chaired by Baroness Hodge is soliciting public input—questions like “What changes would you like to see in ACE’s mandate?” need urgent and honest answers.
Meanwhile, the former government’s scattershot “Levelling Up” agenda— that saw ENO forced out of London and relocate to Manchester— has blurred ACE’s priorities.
So what has gone wrong? It is now common—and I use the word “common” in its every sense— for creative learning within regional theatres to be driven primarily by funding opportunities, with the community work in these departments largely disconnected from the stages and the broader artistic life of the organisation.
The sector’s issues are structural. We need bold leadership and systemic reform, not more bureaucracy.
Instrumentalism.
ACE’s budget now stands at £446 million—£3 million less than in 2010. In real terms, public arts funding has fallen by 48% over the past 14 years, while production costs have soared. Energy bills alone have jumped 120% since 2019. The result? Fewer shows, shuttered venues, and a sector teetering on the brink.
In fact, 40% of theatres could become unsafe within five years without urgent capital investment. Heck, one 150kg metal blade on the side of the Curve in Leicester recently fell off the building and narrowly missed a man. Totally normal.
Landlord Leicester City Council is now set to spend £2.2 million to make the Curve safe.
Anyway, having worked in UK theatres with pest control problems, holes in the roof, a recurring drainage failure that floods the auditorium and one that didn’t even have a lease, none of today’s data surprises me.
Crucially, this isn’t just about bricks and mortar. It’s about people. After the pandemic, an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and years of stagnation, many theatre workers are burnt out.
Freelance careers increasingly rely on unpaid labour, narrowing access to those with financial privilege. According to ACE’s own research, only 43% of freelancers would recommend a career in the sector. Is it any wonder?
On top of this, a new crisis is emerging: censorship. Recent controversies, like the shambolic last-minute cancellation of Royal Exchange’s Midsummer Night’s Dream — that led to CEO Stephen Freeman standing down, HOME Manchester’s bone-brained cowardice pulling an event celebrating Palestinian voices & the collapse of Oldham Coliseum — reveal an atmosphere of risk-aversion, chaotic indecision, and deadly organisational failure.
In conversation, I overuse the phrase “the worst people in the world”, but the majority of theatre CEOs / top brass that I have encountered really are up there. Actually, I think the calibre of arts leaders is very, very badly depleted.
Creativity is being stifled at a time when it’s needed most.
And then there’s the rolling crisis of arts education.
Performing arts subjects have seen a 68% drop in student numbers, while figures for those taking GCSEs have dropped by 47% and A-levels by 29%. A generation is growing up without meaningful exposure to drama, music, dance, opera or art.
I cannot reiterate how cross I am about it.
Worse, creative subjects are being ditched by secondary pupils as more schools are being forced to abandon GCSE and A-level courses to stay afloat, the Sutton Trust has warned.
In case I haven’t mentioned it enough already, we have to get arts back into schools. There’s no time to waste.
In fact, Ravensbourne University London’s research reveals that 75% of 18- to 25-year-olds aspire to work in the creative industries. However, many feel unsure about how to break in or even where to begin.
It is on all of us to inspire the theatregoers of tomorrow.
Still, all these factors interlink in a complex and dangerous way. I mean, this isn’t just a curriculum issue—it’s a long-term threat to the UK’s cultural, civic, and creative economy. Because if we want to halt this decline in theatre production, we need more than cash—we need courage, imagination, and vision.
This matters because we are repeatedly told that the arts and creative industries are set to play a crucial role in the UK government’s strategy for economic growth.
I don’t see how we can make a future without taking better care of the next generation of theatregoers.
Last week, the cross-party culture, media and sport committee unexpectedly endorsed a levy on major streamers. Perhaps a similar levy could be applied to the West End landlords and theatre owners.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says she wants to “bulldoze” barriers in the sector.
The responsibility for saving regional theatre should rest squarely with central government. How about: Nandy demolishes ACE and hands the funds and decision-making directly back to DCMS in the same way that Wes Streeting scrapped NHS England? Just an idea.
By the way, I’ve not given up hope for the future. Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey at the RSC in Stratford, Deborah Warner in Bath, Elizabeth Newman in Sheffield, Adam Penford in Nottingham and, not least, Paul Hart in Newbury still offer exciting and ambitious programming in the regions.
But like I say, there is clear and present danger for regional theatre in Britain.
A 31% drop in theatre production isn’t just a statistic—it’s a wake up call.
A friend who rebuilt her life from addiction often says to me, “I can only sweep my side of the street.” It’s a timely reminder that change starts at home.
We must rally behind our local theatres—not just as audiences, but as advocates for the magic that a vibrant theatre can breathe into a weary city centre, turning it into a place of destination, creativity, and community.
As for the way out of this, it’s time to pull together and get a few steps ahead: now is as good a time as any to start shouting very loudly indeed.
Here’s what you can do
- Write to your local MP
- Complete the ACE consultation – this call for evidence closes midday on 24 April 2025, so hurry.
- Be prepared to fight for the preservation of your theatre.The research for the story counted original and co-productions that opened in 2014 and 2024, including revivals, transfers and tours. They had to be professional in-person theatre productions, at least an hour long, and to have run for at least a week. If a co-production was jointly made by more than one theatre, it was counted as a single production.The research covered the 40 venues, festivals and touring companies that produce original theatre, were operating in 2014 and 2024, and had the highest annual grants in 2024/25 from the Arts Councils of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Creative Scotland and the Scottish government
