Audiences Northern Ireland Theatre Review

This report identifies the following priorities moving forward:

• Enhancing the available picture with improved data collection: Filling existing gaps in data collection, ideally by processing as much information through computerised ticketing systems as possible.

• Building a picture of audience behaviour over time: Expanding the scope of any future research beyond a single year would enable the use of re-attendance year on year at theatre as an additional measure, allowing the issue of genre and venue loyalty to be explored in more detail.

• Further exploring geographic reach in the context of customer behaviour: Additional understanding of the extent to which audiences remain loyal to local venues, or are attracted to other venues, is required.

• Improving frequency of attendance rates: More frequent attendees at the arts generally in the short term are more likely to become re-attendees in the long term, suggesting that the starting point for building an audience in the longer term is increasing frequency of attendance in the short term.

• Measuring and articulating value and impact: If success and value are only measured in terms of tickets and revenue, then much of the valuable work carried out by theatre producers and programmers in Northern Ireland remains unseen.

• Further investigation into how value and impact can be measured and articulated consistently across the sector, in a language which suits the needs of both the sector and its funders, is recommended.