How to solve a problem like affordability

As top price tickets in the West End exceed £300, it’s easy to overlook the vast segments of society for whom even £20 – or £5 – is unaffordable. For many, the cost of attending live theatre remains prohibitively high.

At Battersea Arts Centre (BAC), we tried to do something about affordability. The venue has a history of radical thinking, from the days of Scratch, to becoming a relaxed venue, to launching as a Covid vaccination hub.

When the pandemic hit, we knew we had to do something extraordinary to welcome people back to our building, so nearly four years ago, we launched a Pay What You Can (PWYC) scheme across all performances. I have summarised our findings here.

Diversified income streams mitigate risks

While PWYC is not a novel concept – even for BAC – we were fortunate to be able to draw lessons from other organisations that had implemented similar pricing strategies. We understood the necessary trade-offs and the importance of suggested pricing, as well as the need to clearly communicate the social purpose behind the scheme.

While revenue from ticket sales is vital, BAC is uniquely positioned to experiment with pricing. With historical average ticket prices around £12.50 and diversified revenue streams from commercial hires and fundraising, we can mitigate risks associated with fluctuating ticket income more than others.

Our PWYC initiative aimed to address affordability while aligning with our historical pricing, and we established six key metrics to assess its impact: ticket sales, new audience members, frequency of attendance, ethnic diversity, age range, and average ticket price.

In summary, we sold a higher percentage of tickets, largely to returning audiences, at a slightly lower rate than before. Audience demographics broadly stayed the same, unless we paired PWYC with in-depth audience engagement. 37% paid the recommended price and 39% of people paid under. 20% of people paid the lowest price, whether that was £1 or £8 and 4% of people paid over the suggested price.

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PWYC a persuasive tool

The feedback from our post-booking survey highlighted how price influences audience behaviour. 80% of respondents indicated that PWYC made them more likely to try something new, and 68% stated that the scheme significantly influenced their purchasing decision.

For some, PWYC opened doors to live theatre that would otherwise be financially inaccessible. For others, it served as a persuasive tool to encourage friends to join them for a show outside their comfort zone.

Entering this initiative, we were aware of the pros and cons of PWYC, and our findings align with broader experiences. The model is unlikely to generate substantial revenue, and higher suggested prices introduce greater financial risk. Without meaningful outreach, PWYC may not attract new audiences, and spending tends to decrease once people are at the venue.

Despite these challenges, PWYC successfully lowered financial barriers while nearly maintaining historical income levels. It underscored the reality that for many, price is a significant factor, influencing their willingness to engage with the arts. However, it’s clear that price alone cannot fulfil all our audience development objectives.

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Early access is key to long term attendance

To truly cultivate an inclusive space, we need more comprehensive initiatives. Programmes like Theatre for Every Child, Our Space, and Co-Creation offer holistic approaches to accessibility that extend beyond pricing.

Another question in our post-booking survey asked people to tell us their exposure level to theatre up the age of 16. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 79% of people had either gone occasionally or frequently to the theatre, indicating that early access to the arts is key to long term attendance.

In our research around the importance of representation on stage for Cade and MacAskill’s The Making of Pinocchio, 89% of 664 respondents said it was either important or very important to see LGBTQ+ narratives on stage.

As we start to ask the right questions, we begin to find practical solutions. We can’t simply make things cheap and expect a flood of new audiences. Some organisations already have a firm grip on these, but there are other possible solutions.

1. Tailored programming

Do we really know what diverse communities want from the programme? Inviting feedback from local residents about the kinds of stories they want to see can meaningfully guide programming choices, but would we be open to this discussion? It’s all very well making things cheap, but what if the shows on stage alienate new audiences?

2. Stronger community partnerships

Maybe some people just aren’t interested in the programme. Maybe they’ll never watch a show, but they need warm spaces, places to work or advice on local services.

3. Mentorship and training schemes

Are there clear pathways through organisations for young people, and are we doing enough to share existing knowledge with future generations? Taking that first step can be the most daunting part of the journey, and maybe this more equitable relationship will flourish over the longer term.

No quick fixes

Implementing these strategies, alongside affordable ticket options, requires financial investment. The PWYC scheme was an important step toward addressing affordability while striving to balance our budget and, in that sense, it has been a success. But it represents just one piece of a much larger puzzle in nurturing future audiences.

There are no quick fixes in this journey. If theatre is, as Oscar Wilde said, “the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being”, we have a profound responsibility to ensure that the transformative power of theatre is accessible to all members of society.

By fostering inclusive practices and engaging meaningfully with our communities, we can create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to experience and participate in the arts. In my new role, I will continue to chip away at these difficult questions, and I’d love to hear from others who would like to join the discussion.