New beginnings for post-pandemic theatre workers

A new collaborative project between Tonic and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama has provided an important snapshot of how the pandemic has affected the experience of young people (under 28s in this study) who entered the performing arts industry after March 2020.

For over a decade, Tonic has been at the forefront of influencing strategic change within arts and culture. Their focus is on developing the workforce in the arts to be more diverse, resilient and adaptable. They do this through a broad programme of cross-sector change projects, research, events, training and one-to-one support for arts organisations.

This new research considers how ways of working and the nature of opportunities aimed at young people – entry-level jobs, professional development programmes and training – should be adapted to respond to the specific needs of this cohort, acknowledging they may be different from those of pre-Covid theatre workers.

Focus on administrative roles

Attention is often paid to young people entering the industry as artists, but there is less focus on those in administration positions. Our study focuses specifically on this group, including young people working in roles in, but not limited to, education, finance, communications, production and human resources.

These roles are typically salaried rather than freelance and offer greater job security, so it is important to investigate this cohort because many will progress to more senior leadership positions in the industry.

Researchers from Central and Tonic shared the findings of their work at an event at the Park Theatre in North London this week, including a list of recommendations for policy makers and industry figures. The results focused on four topics: employment opportunities and generational shifts in the industry; financial security, the cost of living, and precarity; well-being and emotional support; and shifting perspective and institutional change.

In the course of the research, we conducted a series of interviews and focus groups with young people who had either recently entered the theatre industry or were undertaking training programmes to do so. We also spoke to senior figures at leading London theatres and cultural organisations that oversee training programmes and career development schemes. These conversations have shed new light on the hopes and anxieties of young theatre workers who have entered the workforce since the pandemic.

Barriers to sustaining a career

90% of our interviewees reported experiencing a lack of career progression and employment opportunities as they tried to establish themselves in the industry. Although they recognised they were lucky to have secured employment in theatre, they emphasised that there were limited opportunities to progress within their organisations or build on their existing experiences and skill set.

The cost-of-living crisis emerged as a significant factor in young people’s ability to establish careers in the industry. 88% of participants identified the cost of living as the single biggest threat to being able to build a viable future in the industry. One participants said she had considered leaving the field due to the financial stress of the cost of living.

She described feeling like a hamster on a treadmill, both “overworked and underpaid”. The high cost of housing and transport were frequently cited as barriers to sustaining a career in London’s theatre sector, with an alarming 50% of respondents saying they did not think they had a long-term future in the industry.

Increased need for mental health support

Our study also examined the emotions that young people in the theatre sector have been experiencing. Representatives from development schemes and training programmes were quick to underscore that there had been a clear increase in the need for mental health support for young people they immediately following the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

This was highlighted by an associate director for a large-scale performing arts venue in London who told us: “What we saw straight away was young people presenting with more acute needs, particularly around mental health and well-being, but also just navigating life and opportunities following the pandemic and then the cost-of-living crisis.” 73% of the young people themselves also confirmed they were suffering from mental fatigue and burnout following the pandemic.

More than four years after the first national lockdown, it’s clear that the disruption caused by the pandemic is still being felt across the theatre industry. These shifts have been particularly felt by early career theatre workers who face significant barriers to building a long-term career in the sector.

Unsustainable economic precarity, job insecurity and burnout have resulted in many young people reconsidering their future career paths and exploring new roles in different sectors. While young people remain excited by the transformative power of live theatre and the arts to tell new stories and address new audiences, it is clear organisations and public bodies need to consider strategies that not only focus on attracting young people to enter the sector but also on retaining and supporting those who have entered the industry since the pandemic.

Dr James Rowson is Lecturer in Contemporary Theatre and Performance at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
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