Learn what ‘A Night Less Ordinary’ found works in attracting young audiences to the theatre
Learn what ‘A Night Less Ordinary’ found works in attracting young audiences to the theatre
By
Pam Jarvis
SUMMARY
A Night Less Ordinary was a collaborative scheme aimed at young audiences. This evaluation report reveals lessons learned about what works well in attracting and sustaining young audiences for theatre. The research looked not only at the number of free tickets given out, but at changes in attitude or organisational focus toward young audiences or good practice which could be adopted by other venues. The report covers summary of main findings, methodology, detailed findings, description of how the scheme was run and how that contributed to the level of success in audience development and marketing etc.
Impact of A Night Less Ordinary free tickets on decision-making
Some of the young people interviewed in the focus groups indicated they would have paid for their tickets, but made a decision to use the free tickets instead. Others were uncertain how the offer of a free ticket had influenced their decision making.
- 53% of first-time and 50% of repeat attenders in the survey stated they went to the theatre instead of going out somewhere else.
- 48% of survey respondents in London and 51% outside London stated that they went to the theatre instead of going out somewhere else.
While “cost of ticket” was consistently the most commonly cited barrier to previous attendance specified by both first-time and repeat attenders, barriers among first-time attenders related more to lack of awareness about what was on than those of repeat attenders. The top four barriers amongst first-time attenders were:
- Cost of ticket 74%
- Not knowing if they would enjoy it 37%
- Not knowing what was on 31%
- Just didn’t think about it 28%
(Respondents could select more than one barrier)
Resource type: Research | Published: 2013
