In these uncertain times we might forget that theatre is a business too and though some Covid 19 funding schemes from the Government may cover some performers, it doesn’t seem it’s that many.
So the future well-being of performers will be in our hands – the audience. It’s thought the West End may well not function again till the end of 2020 if then. The public – you and I – will have to be happy to sit in the dark for a couple of hours with 1,000 or more other people whom we don’t’ know.
Have you wondered – as I am doing in this time of no live performances onstage – how much does it cost to put on a show and where the profit, if any , lies ?
Let’s explore that. Well, it’s not easy to find out. Theatre finances are opaque to put it mildly . But looking at Broadway websites and also published figures for the West End, you can see the scale and complexity of this business we call show.
I haven’t yet found any site that reveals profits for Broadway shows but the biggest recent box office phenomenon – Hamilton – cost $12.5 m to mount and by June 2019 had taken in excess of $ 500m at the box office . Its creator Lin Manuel Miranda gets 7 % of the take – a cool $105,000 a week.
Let’s come nearer home and consider first the West End and then a small lgbtq venue and also Chichester on our doorstep.
Weekly running costs can be as much as £250,000 on a typical £3 million show. Even now, in lockdown, the monthly costs for keeping a “ dark” theatre can be £150,000.
And here’s a quandary – do you give back money from advance bookings ? There are different approaches going on. The National have offered me a credit against future productions – whenever they might be . Other organisations – including I understand Ambassador Theatre Group, which runs Brighton’s Theatre Royal – are offering refunds.
Most theatres would of course hope you think of their plight and turn your ticket money into a donation – much as Brighton Pride is wishing. And of course many theatres are currently able to offer streamed performances from their filmed archives, again hoping for donations or in some cases directly charging.
A whole family of actors, dancers, singers and musicians are now without regular income as many fall outside the Government’s many employment pay guarantees .
Let’s hope we see theatre again in Brighton and everywhere this year and in the meantime consider whether your donation now will secure our theatres for the future.