The below correspondence is posted here by kind permission from the Society of London Theatre
The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is an organisation that works with and on behalf of their Members to champion theatre and the performing arts.
Latest Statements from SOLT & UK Theatre
Response to the government energy announcement on 21 September:
‘We welcome the government’s decisive action to reduce the exposure of theatres and production companies to the huge increase in energy costs. However, BEIS needs to engage directly with SOLT & UK Theatre to confirm how the scheme will be delivered to the theatre sector so that businesses can plan accordingly. Furthermore, BEIS also needs to confirm how the sector can contribute to the review process to identify and deliver the support required after March 2023, as theatres programme their schedules many months in advance, and failure to have a long-term plan could cause real damage to our industry.
We advise all theatres, performing arts organisations and producers to discuss this morning’s announcement with their energy supplier, and SOLT & UK Theatre will be sharing guidance from the government as and when it is released.’
Response to the Chancellor’s announcement on 23 September:
‘The UK’s world-leading Creative & Cultural Sector, of which Theatre is a significant part, grew four times the rate of the UK economy before COVID-19. The Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre is concerned that the specific challenges faced by the sector were not addressed during the Chancellor’s statement, and the opportunity to commit to supply-side incentives, such as maintaining the higher rate of Theatre Tax Relief, was missed.
Independent economic modelling undertaken in 2021 revealed that, with the right fiscal incentives, by 2025, the UK’s Creative & Cultural Industries could contribute £132.1 billion in GVA – more than the financial services, insurance and pension industries combined.
Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre welcomes the Chancellor’s commitment to growth, supply-side incentives and reform. We agree that the UK economy has huge potential, and there are too many barriers to enterprise.
We hope that the government will recognise the strength of the theatre sector as an entrepreneurial and SME-led economic driver, locally, nationally and globally. We look forward to working with the Government to ensure that theatres and performing arts organisations are best positioned to contribute to their Growth Plan.’
Schools Theatre Day
On Thursday 6 October, we will be launching a new online resource for schools in partnership with Mousetrap Theatre Projects. This will be a guide for teachers, providing them with everything they need for planning a trip to a London Theatre. This will link directly to shows and venues’ education programmes. We will be mailing schools in the London and Greater London area with details about the resource and a poster highlighting careers in theatre. Please find a list of shows already included here, or email Megan to add your show.
We will be generating press around the new online resource to highlight how important school trips are for pupils’ mental health and aspirations. We will also be working with Westminster City Lions and pupils in year 8 and 9 from schools who never normally engage with theatre. We are working with five shows who are offering tickets and a workshop, which will be filmed as a resource for the Schools Theatre Guide. This is a pilot which we intend to build on in future years.
A key element of the campaign is to highlight the importance of school theatre trips so we would encourage theatres across the country to get involved on social media using #SchoolsTheatreDay to share and highlight the work they are already doing with schools.
Booking now open for Autumn/Winter 2022 Training Courses & Conferences
Courses and conferences, offered on-line and in-person, are available for all levels and cover themes including:
- Business & Finance
- Fundraising
- Health & Safety
- HR
- Learning & Participation
- Marketing
- Negotiation Skills
- Revenue Generation
Discounts (including early bird rates) are available for SOLT & UK Theatre members, and members of other industry bodies including ABO, ABTT, ICT and Theatres Trust.
For full details and to book visit TheatreMeansBusiness.info.
And if you’d like to promote the programme within your organisation, there’s a printable PDF outlining all the courses and conferences here.
The training and conferences programme is generously sponsored by Ecclesiastical, Spektrix, Theatre Tokens, Tysers and YesPlan.
New SOLT / UK Theatre Evidence Centre launching soon – find out more at our webinar
Over the last few months SOLT & UK Theatre have been developing an Evidence Centre in partnership with Baker Richards, and we’re now ready to reveal more details about it. This new initiative will collect and aggregate member sales and audience data, and along with other data including economic, workforce and audience demographics, it will help SOLT / UK Theatre lobby government and raise our profile in the media, on behalf of our members.
Join us for a webinar on Thursday 6 October at 4pm and find out what the Evidence Centre can do, and how we need our members’ involvement. This webinar will be suitable for members, Chief Executives, and marketing and box office contacts in your organisations.
Register for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
TheatreCraft Ticket Request
TheatreCraft would like to thank its volunteers with complimentary tickets to shows following the event, on the evening of Tuesday 25 October. If your show is able to provide tickets, please contact Kayley.