The theatre and performing arts sector is an integral part of the creative industries (also known as the cultural industries) bracket in the UK, which is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country’s economy.

The full range includes advertising, architecture, art, crafts, design, fashion, film, TV, music, performing arts, publishing, software, toys and games, radio, and video games. The entire creative industries market in the UK is now worth over £100 billion per year.

Periodically, updates are released from governing bodies to showcase the specific worth of the theatre industry, and its continued contribution to the UK economy. In all likelihood, such an updated statement should be released in the next few months.

UK Theatre Worth in 2018

The last report from UK Theatre and the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) was released at the beginning of this year, and covered audience and ticket sales for all member venues in 2018. These figures included:

• A total of 62,945 performances across the UK.
• A total audience of more than 34 million.
• A total ticket revenue of approx. £1.28 billion.

A particularly large rise in revenue was seen for venues judged as ‘Principally presenting theatres with a capacity of over 1000’, as these attractions brought in 13.1% more revenue in 2018 than was the case in 2017. In fact, this trend of success for larger theatres reversed the (quite unusual) trend of 2017, where small venues experienced stronger rates of growth.

2018 was actually the first time that joint figures had been revealed for London’s West End and the rest of the country, coming off the back of a record-breaking year that saw West End theatres welcoming over 15.5 million in terms of total audience numbers, as well as generating box office revenue of more than 127 million.

Events in the Last Quarter of 2019

As we near the close of 2019, we still await the figures for this year, which will be received by many with great interest following the president of SOLT, Kenny Wax, predicting “caution” for this year in the face of major renovation and musical performance changes at numerous venues, as well as the impact generated by the ongoing political climate surrounding Brexit.

There are still numerous events to enjoy at The Grand Theatre before the end of the year, including our swashbuckling Christmas Peter Pan Pantomime that runs into January of 2020. Stats showed that more people than ever were experiencing musical productions in 2018, so if you’ve enjoyed keeping up that trend then book your tickets today from as little as £15!