Theatre tours under threat due to rising costs, industry leaders warn

Theatre tours are being cut back as rising costs make visits to smaller and medium-sized towns increasingly difficult to sustain, industry leaders have warned.

The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre are calling on the Chancellor to introduce measures in the autumn budget to support touring, protect venues and improve access to theatre across the UK.

The organisations say rising travel, freight, energy and business rates costs, alongside increased National Insurance contributions, are making more touring dates financially unviable.

Domestic touring activity fell by 24 per cent between 2019 and 2024, while the number of plays and drama productions touring fell by 64 per cent, according to figures cited by SOLT and UK Theatre. More than half of the 571 touring organisations examined in Arts Council England’s recent Touring Review recorded losses.

The organisations say the decline is limiting the number of towns and cities that can receive touring productions, reducing choice for audiences and affecting the local economies that benefit from theatre visitors.

SOLT and UK Theatre members welcomed more than 37 million attendances last year. The organisations say that for every £1 spent on a theatre ticket, a further £1.40 is spent locally in restaurants, shops and pubs.

SOLT and UK Theatre are calling for three measures in the Autumn Budget: the first would make unavoidable touring costs, such as freight, eligible for Theatre Tax Relief. Independent modelling commissioned by Arts Council England found that a proposed expansion of the relief could generate an estimated £4.50 in gross value added for every £1 of gross Exchequer cost.

Secondly, they are also calling for the touring-rate threshold for opera and ballet to be reduced, arguing that the current system does not reflect the costs of large-scale national touring.

The third proposal would extend existing business rates relief for pubs and live music venues to theatres and other live performance venues.

SOLT and UK Theatre Co-CEOs Claire Walker and Hannah Essex said: “Theatre is one of the UK’s great success stories, and has the power to bring real economic and social value to every community. But without targeted action, more communities will lose opportunities to see theatre close to home, with fewer weeks of work for skilled professionals, and less footfall for local businesses.

“These proposals are practical, affordable, and focused on the decisions that matter. They would help producers add dates, enable opera and ballet to reach more audiences, and give local venues greater confidence to programme ambitious work.

“The autumn budget is an opportunity to keep theatre touring on the road, protect live performance venues and ensure more people can enjoy world-class performance in the communities where they live.”

National Theatre executive director and co-chief executive Kate Varah said the 64 per cent per cent fall in touring plays since 2019 was putting theatre infrastructure and local cultural economies at risk. The venue will be touring a new production of Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice next year.

Varah added: “Touring is the most direct way to ensure that the world-class theatre the UK is renowned for reaches communities across the country.

“Expanding Theatre Tax Relief to account for some of the specific costs associated with touring would be transformative. This low-cost intervention would unlock greater national access to the arts, support jobs and local economies, and give producers the confidence to invest in ambitious new work for audiences across the country.”