Studies
The Big Freelancer Survey 2025 - REPORT OUT NOW
This is our fifth and final Big Freelancer Survey (BFS); having started the BFS in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the plan was always to capture a unique window in time. However, it is not the end of Freelancers Make Theatre Work (FMTW), and as we reflect on five years that have been defined by COVID, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis, it is time for FMTW – and the industry – to look to the future and ask: Where do we go from here?
The Big Freelancer Survey 2024 - REPORT OUT NOW
The Big Freelancer Survey 2024 is a story of two halves, contrasting a community of freelancers who are deeply committed to their work and to supporting each other, with an industry that is described as ‘abusive’ in the structures it upholds, and practices it perpetuates.
Pandemic Preparedness in the Live Performing Arts: Lessons to Learn from COVID-19 in the G7 Countries
Freelancers Make Theatre Work was a partner organisation in this research which was published in March 2024.
The Big Freelancer Survey 2023 - REPORT OUT NOW
The Big Freelancer Survey aims to provide a detailed report of the past 12 months. This data will feed into ongoing lobbying of both industry bodies and government, informing them where support is most needed and what the greatest issues facing freelancers are.
Big Freelancer Survey 2022 - Report
One of the largest reports of its kind, designed to listen to & articulate the diverse voices of freelancers working in an industry navigating a multi-faceted crisis.
Job Juggling Report - 2022
Research by creative freelancers in the performing arts shows 98% of creative freelance workers have been dependent on other work or income during their careers.
This research was carried out by freelance members of the Creative Freelancers: Shaping London’s Recovery (CF:SLR) cohort in 2021.
Omicron Variant Impact Study - 2022
Measuring the impact of the Omicron Variant for the period December 2021 - January 2022
Survey designed in collaboration with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The Big Freelancer Report - 2021
One year on from the beginning of the pandemic, The Big Freelancer Report maps the problems facing the freelance workforce and makes practical recommendations for change.
Study - Routes To Recovery - 2020
This report was created by an unaffiliated group of analysts and theatre freelancers. It includes data gathered by SDUK, Freelancers Make Theatre Work and Curtain Call through the Big Freelancer Survey, as well as pre-existing Arts Council data.
Study - Interdependence: Freelancers and Organisations 2020
This report was written by Freelancers Make Theatre Work and includes data gathered from over 90 producing organisations throughout the UK.
Studies - COVID and Theatre
A series of studies collated from various organisations specifically looking at how COVID-19 has impacted the Performing Arts
Studies - Arts and Culture
Wider studies on Arts and Culture from governmental sources, arts bodies, theatre companies, organisations and more.