With a general election no more than 15 months away, the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and U.K. Theatre have launched their new advocacy campaign, ‘Theatre for Every Child’. The campaign, which began in autumn 2023, asks politicians and leaders from all political parties to commit to assuring that every child will have gone to the theatre at least once before they leave school.
In the 2019/2020 academic year, only 26% of those aged between 5 and 10 engaged in any drama or theatre activities, with 54% of 11- to 15-year-olds. These activities can range from being actively involved in a theatre group, to simply attending a show, whether in a theatrical hub such as the West End, or in local theatre, many due only to it being a production they are studying in GCSE English examinations. Only 25% of those between 11 and 15 engaged in these outside of school. But for the Society of London Theatre and U.K. Theatre, this isn’t high enough. With the cost-of-living crisis, high inflation and a plethora of other issues, including transport, many young people are simply unable to access professional theatre in Britain, despite it being one of the two theatre capitals of the world.
The Theatre for Every Child campaign aims to change that, by asking for the political parties of the U.K. to commit in their general election manifestos to ensuring every child in the country attends a professional theatre production by the time they leave school. According to the campaign, young people attending the theatre has a myriad of benefits, including cultural enrichment, empathy, and wellbeing, as well as opening the doors for a range of careers that young people may not have considered before.
The benefits of this scheme are not limited to students themselves. The campaign also points out that the industry is facing significant skills shortages and lower audience numbers, particularly following the pandemic. As well as this, British theatre contributes considerably to the U.K. economy. Pre-Covid, the industry contributed £116 billion to the wider creative industries in Gross Value Added (GVA), whilst generating £2.39 billion GVA itself, and supporting 205,000 workers. As well as this, theatre trips contribute to other local businesses, with an average of £1.40 being spent in local businesses for every £1 spent on a theatre ticket, with increased footfall from young people sure to increase this.
With a recent poll finding that 84% of parents were either very supportive or supportive of a government programme to ensure at least one free trip to the theatre for every child before they leave school, the Theatre for Every Child campaign asks for a commitment to ring-fenced funding from the next government, whichever party (or parties) form it. In their 2019 manifestos, both the Conservative and Labour parties committed to an ‘arts pupil premium’, with the Conservatives’ aimed at secondary school pupils and Labour for primary schools. But these were mainly aimed at reforming subjects in general, with only the Conservative manifesto specifically pledging funding for enriching activities. Also, neither committed to specific figures, targets or types of activities involved, leaving this area very vague.
However, the Theatre for Every Child campaign has gone further than simply calling for this change, it has also offered the next government not only a fully costed plan, but a collaborative effort to fulfil this pledge. Their initial costing work has predicted that to provide a theatrical experience for 800,000 pupils, including teacher supervision, would cost approximately £42.33 per child at most, leading to an annual cost of £34 million per year. However, this assumes that every ticket is charged at £25 each, which the campaign believes could be lowered by voluntary contributions and sponsorships. London Theatres have been known to lower prices for particular shows to coincide with school half terms, with Kids Week promotions commonplace throughout the summer. With these extra funding channels, the predicted annual cost would be expected to be only around £14-18 million per year. On top of this, when surveyed, many parents said they would contribute between £5 and £10 for such a trip, bringing the cost down even more.
The launch of the campaign at the London Palladium was well received, with attendees including Charlie Russell (The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong), Luke Thompson (Oresteia, King Lear), Shadow Minister for Music and Tourism Barbara Keeley MP & Baroness Christine Blower. The campaign was also shared and championed by many shows and theatrical events, such as West End Live, the Olivier Awards, The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked.
But how can we get involved? In order to increase awareness and publicity of this campaign, people are encouraged to share their own theatrical experiences with #TheatreForEveryChild. As well as this, the campaign encourages us to write to our local politicians and parliamentarians to encourage them to pledge their support. You can also sign up for email updates on their website.
As a general election appears on the horizon, now is a key moment to secure the future of theatre for the youngest members in our society. With a fully-costed, well-planned and important campaign handing itself to our politicians, will any of them or the political parties of the U.K. commit to getting young people into our theatres? Only time will tell.
The Theatre for Every Child campaign was launched by the Society of London Theatre & U.K. Theatre. Click here for more information
