Launched in 2014, Theatre Nation Partnerships is a joint initiative, led by the National Theatre and funded by Arts Council England, bringing together 13 arts and cultural organisations across England. The aim of the partnership is to strengthen connections with local audiences, schools and communities in culturally underserved areas.
In common with many theatres across the UK, Theatre Nation Partnerships venues were facing a decline in regional drama audiences, exacerbated by post-COVID challenges, changes in lifestyle behaviour, and economic pressures. Despite these hurdles, there remained a significant interest in theatre, such as pantomime or musicals, so the partners were keen to explore together how to learn from this and in turn, build and retain new audiences for drama.
The project had two strands: comprehensive research around drama audiences across the network, and the development of a toolkit to provide support for all departments with audience development and decision making.
Venues (both inside and outside of TNP) shared their historic drama sales data for analysis and sent out one consistent survey to their audiences. This collaborative approach made for a much richer dataset and findings we knew were truly national.
The Toolkit provided a framework and actionable strategies for venues to build drama audiences, founded on the data-driven insights.
We've really appreciated the team at Indigo's committed, thorough and insightful work. Kerry and Anastasia have been wonderful to work with, and I can't wait to see the toolkit in action across our national network!"
Claude Graham, Administration Manager, National Partnerships, National Theatre
Audiences are vital for every theatre’s future. Therefore, we must continue to invest time and resources into finding out more about their behaviour and reasons for attendance.
The team at Indigo Ltd have provided us with a wonderful, data rich resource which can support and guide so many venues, producers and organisations within our industry.
Claire Ward, Executive Director, Curve