News & Comment

More new plays in top theatres

(February 04, 2015)

BBC arts reporter, Ian Youngs, has done some research and says:

The number of new plays  rose between 2009 and 2014, particularly at the best-funded venues, despite fears that new writing is harder to sell.

The research looked at 62 subsidised UK theatre companies - about three-quarters of all those that get at least £250,000 per year create their own productions, and were open in both 2009 and 2014.

  • A total of 137 new plays and musicals were staged by the 62 theatre companies in 2009. This rose to 174 in 2014 - a rise of 27%.
  • The number of new plays rose by 45% at the 20 best-funded theatres, and rose by 15% at the other companies.

(For more details visit:  www.BBC.co.uk/news/ )

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