Over the last few years, we’ve seen many stage productions come to the big screen, either as recordings or adaptations. Matilda now has a musical film, Wicked: Part One is currently shooting for its release next year, and in 2021 a recording of Hamilton was viewed 22 million times in its first month on Disney+. However, anticipation around Cats and Dear Evan Hansen’s films left many disappointed. Although there’s no guarantee of their success, moving to the big screen has an undeniable impact on live theatre. Streaming services allow us to watch whatever we want whenever we want, so how might that help or hinder British theatres?
Stage-to-screen adaptations are nothing new. Shakespeare got his first adaptation in 1899! Versatility is a sign of a great piece of art. Books to plays to films was a common thread in early cinema. Adaptations work in all directions too; they bring in larger, more diverse audiences and can revive old gems. The real issue with the new wave of adaptations is streaming services. Cinema has always been more accessible than theatre, and now streaming has changed the game. Not only do streaming services carry huge budgets to produce new adaptations, but their subscribers can also watch any previous stage adaptations. This, combined with the eye-watering price of theatre tickets, may diminish interest in theatre productions massively. With budgets so tight, live entertainment as a whole will suffer.
Creatively, stage-to-screen adaptations are not helpful for theatre, as they prolong the runs of already successful productions, limiting opportunities for new works to come through. The public will choose familiar shows over new ones. Les Misérables has entered its 39th year in the West End, because audiences love it and theatres know it will always draw a crowd. A deference for the past is not so problematic in other performing arts, as we can watch Chaplin films just as easily as anime! For theatre, with a limited number of stages, we can only watch what’s on right now. Often, what’s on right now is broadly similar for years in a row. Through the most cynical lens, theatre seems to deliberately stifle originality far more than any other artform. Bringing more novel ideas into theatre should help diversify the stories told on stage and generate newfound interest. Although it’s purely speculative, it seems logical that if innovation triumphs over tried-and-tested productions, audiences will grow, and money will pour in too.
Financially, recordings are generally beneficial, whereas adaptations provide less certain financial return. Recordings, such as those streamed by National Theatre Live or National Theatre at Home, make theatre more accessible while still bringing money directly into the theatre industry. Adaptations can generate income through prolonged theatre productions, but there’s no guarantee of that. Equally, if a show has a longer run because of an adaptation, that will likely benefit a big West End theatre box office, perhaps with some money filtering across the country if the show tours.
My view of this whole situation may seem pessimistic, but British theatre, especially outside London, is already in dire straits. There are currently 38 theatres that are at risk of closure in the UK, only 4 of which are in London, with none in the West End at risk of closure. The geographical disparity of British theatre is equally reflected in audience figures. According to a YouGov poll, 33% of Londoners saw a play or musical in the last 3 months, compared to a national average of 20%.
The post-COVID economic recovery is far from secure either. Despite a £2 billion Cultural Recovery Fund from the government (to keep cultural organisations and heritage sites afloat post-Covid), the situation is far from stable. Concerns over RAAC have now closed over a dozen theatres across the country. In the past 10 years, we’ve also seen two theatres literally falling apart; the Apollo and the Piccadilly Theatres in London had ceiling collapses in 2013 and 2019 respectively. Young people are also losing interest in theatre. Shakespeare’s Globe reported a 7% decrease in school trips in 2022 and GCSE drama uptake is 40% lower than in 2010. All these factors, now with the new threat of adaptations on streaming services, paint a murky picture for British theatre in the coming future.
Adaptations haven’t led to a huge crisis in the past but streaming’s influence could change that at lightning speed. The conundrum is now about whether theatres follow their typical financially sensible, but creatively restrictive principles by reviving adapted works or taking a risk. I can’t see much changing in the next few years, but I’d love to see more original work seeing the light of day. All of us can name living artists, screenwriters, film directors and actors, but most people would struggle to name a living playwright. There must be a way to breathe fresh life into the scene. I challenge theatres to turn their back on constant revivals of adapted works and keep theatre as diverse, engaging, and fresh as possible.
