James McArdle: We need to get Hollywood stars into regional theatres

James McArdle has called for more Hollywood stars to take stage shows across the nation.

Speaking to Sarah Crompton on the WhatsOnStage Podcast a fortnight ago, McArdle responded to a question about how to get young, working class audiences back into theatres across the UK – especially, in Crompton’s words, those who “don’t feel that they can access high end culture.”

After ruminating on the subject, McArdle said: “Obviously more money would help in the arts. Even though this may sound mercenary, but I think the more big stars, Hollywood stars or big TV names that we can get into regional theatres, the better. That is a key.”

He highlights Citizen’s Theatre artistic director Dominic Hill as a director building spaces for regional audiences (the Citizen’s Theatre in Glasgow is currently being refurbished), and also celebrated James McAvoy for taking Cyrano de Bergerac up to Glasgow a few years ago.

McArdle accepts that this can be hard to convince actors to do: “There’s not the money there often… I don’t have all the answers, but I know that big blockbuster names help.”

McArdle’s comments, made a few weeks ago, preceded Gary Oldman’s announcement that he’ll be returning to the stage at York Theatre Royal in 2025.

The podcast can be listened to on various streaming platforms here.