Funding cuts blamed for drop in subsidised theatre productions

UK theatre leaders from across the subsidised sector have warned that public funding cuts have driven a significant reduction in the number of plays and musicals they can stage.

Over the last decade, the number of productions the 40 highest-funded theatre companies staged has dropped by 31%, according to research by the BBC.

In 2014, there were 332 original productions, compared with 229 in 2024.

The research counted original and co-productions that opened in 2014 and 2024, including revivals, transfers and tours. If a co-production was jointly made by more than one theatre, it was counted as a single production.

Speaking to the BBC, theatre leaders warned that funding cuts and rising costs had forced many venues to reduce the number of shows they stage while also looking for risk mitigation, such as collaborating more on co-productions and ‘safe’ programming.

Chief executive of Birmingham Rep Rachael Thomas said the venue, which has lost all its council funding, was staging bigger-scale productions in partnership with other venues or commercial producers.

“Some individual productions that are made with the commercial sector are much bigger than anything we ever used to make,”

“So for us, yes, there are fewer productions coming out, but we are spending more because the productions that we are making are so much bigger than they ever used to be.”

She added that the subsidy had previously allowed venues to take more of a risk on the productions, which are unlikely to recoup their costs.

“I cannot see a world in which we could now launch a play which has got a cast size of nine or 10 in our 133-seater studio space now as a new play,” said Thomas.

“For our model, and I would say for the vast majority of regional producing theatres, that is nigh on impossible.”

Leicester Curve was one of a few venues in the study that staged more original shows in 2024 than in 2014, doubling its box office income during that time.

Chief executive Chris Stafford said that by sharing resources and risk, the venue was “doing more with less in terms of public investment,” but noted that in addition to production costs, many venues also need to pay for essential building repairs and upgrades.