Growing: Theatre is central to the cultural life of our nation. 63% of the UK population has been to at least one theatre show in the past year – that’s more than sporting events and music concerts.
Diverse: Perhaps the most surprising fact unearthed by our survey was that likelihood to attend the theatre was highest amongst 16-19 year olds. Audiences have been growing proportionally younger for some time, as reflected in our transactional data, with a 71% increase amongst 16-25 year olds since 2009.
Theatre in the UK is growing, evolving and diverse – demand is increasing as the industry is finding new ways to attract and engage wider audiences, whilst also looking for new revenue streams.

Attendance is strong, particularly in London, and the majority of attendees are planning to either maintain or increase their theatre going this year and the next, despite an increase in ticket prices for coveted seats. Even so, price is the primary barrier to entry for people who already attend the theatre, suggesting that they would likely go to more performances if tickets were more affordable.

Cost of attending the theatre is the main barrier to entry for both attendees and non-attendees. Very expensive to attend a theatre which suggest a money-friendly schemes

Second highest barriers for attendees is ticket availability
Second highest barriers for non-attendees is lack of interest ore than £3.30 per week on cinemas, theatres and other entertainment, 30 per cent more than the national average.
The majority theatre attendees are 25-44 years old.

Word of mouth is the primary source of information for theatre attendees, followed by event or venue website.

42% of attendees attend the theatre with their partner.
21% attend due to interest in theatre
29% checked their phone during the performances, although 8% think is acceptable theatre behaviour.

44% have cried at the theatre and 41% have laughed when not intended romance drama and comedy

Economic: Decline in public funding’s on which the UK theatre sector is heavily reliant. Despite being a big driver of UK tourism

Theatre attendees are most likely to attend the cinema followed by arts events. Scale of preferences is low on most attendees.

24% tweet about the performance there are about to see or have already seen which means 16-19 years old 47% are within the group.

66% want to maintain or increase the number of musicals and plays they attend this year.

Long-standing musicals are highly popular, Phantom of the opera 94% Les Miserable 93% and the lion king 92%.

Comedy is the most appealing to theatregoers 42%

Finding out new shows:

Word out mouth 28%
Venue or event website 26%
Newspaper/Magazine 13%
Ticketing company 8%
Blogs 0%
Twitter 0%
Facebook 1%
Event poster 8%

Reviews: 43% and 39% respectively thinks of reviews to encourage new goers to the theatre.

The majority (83%) of theatregoers seem to plan their theatre attendance two or more months in advance of the actual performance. Impulsiveness amongst theatre attendance is quite rare,

The majority (45%) of attendees pay between £30 and £59 for their theatre tickets and wouldn’t want to pay more than that, though a small number of attendees would be willing to increase their spending on tickets to around £100 or £200, “if it's good then it's
”.
Attendees are polarised between prioritising good seats over affordable prices (44% each) with only 12% just interested in any seat available.

comedian Jason Manford has criticised theatre operator Ambassador Theatre Group for charging high fees on top of tickets to his show, calling the organisation “parasites of the highest order”.

Manford claimed on his Facebook page that for his show at the Oxford New Theatre, which is owned by ATG, a £9 fee is charged in addition to the original £22.50 ticket price for an online booking.

Manford added: “The maddest thing about ATG is they also own the venue. So not only do they take £9 off you but they