Room for improvement in Scotland’s theatre sector

A wide-ranging review of theatre in Scotland has returned a mixed picture, with a strong infrastructure, talented professionals and policy-making that enables the vision of artists to be translated into reality, but patchy implementation of key policies that has left some in the theatre sector feeling undervalued.

Describing theatre in Scotland as “on the one hand confident and ambitious, and on the other fearful of risk taking”, report author Christine Hamilton pinpoints the failure to spread good work around Scotland as one of the issues that needs to be addressed, and argues that, whilst in economic terms the sector is highly developed and functions well, some of those working in it are “weary of struggling on low incomes and insufficient production budgets”. She said: “there is something wrong when there are great buildings but not the work to put in them”: not one person who responded to the recent consultation which underpinned the report suggested that Scotland needs more theatre venues.

Among the ‘six great things about Scottish theatre’ that Hamilton lists are the new work produced; the international reach of that work; and the well-networked and mutually supportive nature of the sector, including a good geographic spread of venues, supported by “energetic” voluntary promoters in rural areas. However, she notes that audiences remain demographically limited, something that is attributed to weaknesses in marketing – especially in sharing box office intelligence. As a proportion of total spend, less money is being spent on stage productions now than ten years ago and there is a dearth of touring shows for venues, which are “desperate for good quality theatre.” At the same time, mid-career theatre artists find it hard to make a living in Scotland. In terms of skills, theatre in Scotland is found to have an acute shortage of technicians; and the children’s theatre sector relies on too few people and companies. The same is true of Gaelic theatre, Black and Minority Ethnic theatre and Physical Performance.

Concluding that “there are good reasons why change has to happen” the report makes around 30 recommendations to Creative Scotland, but also suggests that the sector should take responsibility for assessing quality through self assessment, peer review and audience feedback; and for developing and planning for the training of more directors, designers and technicians.