Theatre
Three hundred and twenty six Theatre organisations participated in the Digital Culture Survey 2017 of how arts and cultural organisations in England use digital technology. They include organisations of different sizes from across England, giving us a detailed picture of how the theatre sector is using technology to support its work.
Importance of digital technology
In line with previous years, marketing continues to be the business area that Theatre organisations consider to be most important, with 96 per cent seeing digital as important to this activity (see Figure 1). This is followed by operations and preserving and archiving. Compared to the whole sector, distribution and exhibition is the area where digital technology is considered least important.
Figure 1: Importance of digital to different activity areas (whole sector vs. Theatre, 2017)
This bar chart shows the percentage importance of digital technology to various activity areas, comparing "Overall" sector results with "Theatre" specific results for 2017, and indicating percentage point changes from 2013.
- Marketing: Overall 91%, Theatre 96%. Change: +0% (increase).
- Preserving and archiving: Overall 78%, Theatre 76%. Change: -10%.
- Operations: Overall 77%, Theatre 76%. Change: -1%.
- Creation: Overall 56%, Theatre 52%. Change: -5%.
- Business models: Overall 53%, Theatre 50%. Change: +22% (increase).
- Distribution and exhibition: Overall 53%, Theatre 39%. Change: -8%.
Notes: How important is digital technology to your organisation overall, at the present time, in each of the following areas? Significant changes 2013-2017 (at the 95 per cent significance level) highlighted in bold, Arrows show significant differences to whole sector.
2017: Theatre n=317, Overall n=1,391, 2013: Theatre n=221.
Business models is the only area showing a significant increase in importance since 2013. This change is most strongly apparent for small and large Theatre organisations (based on turnover). Seventy-six per cent of large Theatre organisations (vs 25 per cent in 2013) and 41 per cent of small organisations (vs 24 per cent in 2013) now cite digital to be important for business models.
Digital activities
| Category |
Description |
| Top digital activities |
Email marketing, publishing content on free platforms and on own website |
| More likely than other artforms to |
Email marketing, paid search, sell event tickets online, sell products and/or merchandise online |
Theatre organisations do 7.7 types of digital activity on average, close to the whole sector average of 7.8. This number varies greatly by size of Theatre organisations: large theatre organisations typically do 10.8 types of digital activity, on average, compared to 6.5 for small theatre organisations.
There are three activities where Theatre organisations are significantly ahead of the whole sector and nine where they are behind in terms of the proportion of organisations that undertake those activities (see Figure 2). For example, Theatre organisations are more likely to engage in email marketing, seeing tickets online and paid search. However, Theatre organisations are less likely than the sector as a whole to sell products and merchandise online.
Compared to 2013, significantly more Theatre organisations are engaging in paid search and selling event tickets online. There has also been a significant rise in the number of Theatre organisations engaged in livestreaming. There are two activities which have significantly declined since 2013: publishing content onto our own platforms and maintaining a blog.
Figure 2: Digital activities for Theatre organisations vs whole sector 2017 (and change from 2013)
This bar chart shows the percentage of Theatre and Overall sector organisations undertaking various digital activities in 2017, and the percentage point change from 2013.
- Email marketing: Theatre 86%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -5%.
- Publishing content onto free platforms: Theatre 85%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -4%.
- Publishing content onto our website: Theatre 73%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -9%.
- Sell event tickets online: Theatre 60% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: +12%.
- Make existing recordings available for digital consumption: Theatre 47%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -1%.
- Accept online donations: Theatre 44%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +6%.
- Paid search and/or online display advertising: Theatre 44% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: +30%.
- Post video/audio content, either for download or streaming: Theatre 41%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -6%.
- Search engine optimisation: Theatre 39%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +1%.
- Maintain a blog with commentary and cultural criticism: Theatre 35%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -13%.
- Provide educational content or online events: Theatre 29%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -4%.
- Use crowdfunding platforms: Theatre 27%, Overall (implied similar). Change: N/A.
- Sell products or merchandise online: Theatre 25% (significant decrease), Overall (implied higher). Change: +2%.
- Digitising collections - making copies of physical originals in digital form: Theatre 22% (significant decrease), Overall (implied higher). Change: N/A.
- Digital works that are connected to an exhibition or artwork: Theatre 19%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +1%.
- Simulcast/livestream performances: Theatre 17% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: +8%.
- Digital experiences used at the same time as the artwork: Theatre 17%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +1%.
- Standalone digital exhibits or works of art: Theatre 11%, Overall (implied similar). Change: -5%.
- Offer exclusive online content: Theatre 10%, Overall (implied similar). Change: N/A.
- Use third party platforms to generate revenue from: Theatre 9%, Overall (implied similar). Change: N/A.
- Provide educational interactive experiences: Theatre 8% (significant decrease), Overall (implied higher). Change: -4%.
- Provide virtual reality/augmented reality experiences: Theatre 5% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: N/A.
- Provide online interactive tours of real-world exhibitions/spaces: Theatre 5% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: +1%.
Notes: Now thinking about your organisation's digital activities, please indicate which of the following your organisation currently does. Significant changes 2013-2017 (at the 95 per cent significance level) highlighted in bold, Arrows show significant differences to whole sector.
2017: Theatre n=326, Whole sector n = 1,424; 2013: Theatre n=221.
As over 60 per cent of UK online time (for consumers generally) is now spent on mobile, arts and culture organisations which are not yet optimised for mobile should recognise this as a priority. Most Theatre organisations have responded to this trend, with 71 per cent of them now having a mobile-optimised web presence, significantly more than the sector average of 69 per cent. This proportion has risen significantly from 24 per cent in 2013.
Social media use by Theatre organisations is broadly in line with the sector as a whole, using on average 4.4 social media platforms compared to 4.1 or the sector as a whole. The most popular social media platforms are Facebook (95 per cent), Twitter (94 per cent) and YouTube (55 per cent). Theatre organisations are significantly more likely to use Twitter (94 per cent vs. 85 per cent for the sector as a whole), with the number of theatre organisations using Instagram having increased significantly since 2013 (48 per cent vs. 9 per cent).
Theatre organisations are in line with the wider arts and cultural sector when it comes to utilising data. For example, more Theatre organisations are using audience/visitor contact details to send out newsletters, (e.g. by email) than any other data-driven activity. This is in line with the wider arts and culture sector (79 per cent for theatre organisations vs 76 per cent among whole sector). The only exception is that Theatre organisations are less likely to use analytics and insight from audience data to improve the website than the sector as a whole (32 per cent vs. 41 per cent sector average).
The impact of digital
| Category |
Description |
| Proportion seeing major/fairly major impacts overall |
67 per cent (vs. 70 per cent for the whole sector) |
| Main area of impact |
Boosting public profile |
Overall, 67 per cent of theatre organisations report a major or fairly major positive impact of digital on achieving their organisation's mission, similar to the whole sector (70 per cent). This varies significantly by size, with 90 per cent of large organisations claiming positive impact compared to 62 per cent of small and 57 per cent of medium-sized organisations.
Looking at specific impact areas, Theatre organisations are broadly in line with the sector as a whole, showing significant differences in four out of 26 areas (see Figure 3). They are significantly more likely than other artforms to see an impact in terms of selling tickets online and in their critical response to work. The areas where they are significantly less likely to report positive impact are reaching an international audience and improving access.
Compared to 2013, the impact from digital now appears to be felt more strongly by Theatre organisations in many areas, with significantly higher proportions saying digital has positive impact in eight areas of activity (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: The impact of digital technology on activity areas (Theatre organisations vs. whole sector, 2017)
This bar chart shows the percentage of Theatre and Overall sector organisations reporting digital technology had an impact on various activity areas in 2017, and the percentage point change from 2013.
- Boosting our public profile: Theatre 68%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +14%.
- Engaging more extensively and deeply with our existing audience: Theatre 60%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +9%.
- Reaching a bigger audience: Theatre 59%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +15%.
- Selling tickets online for events and/or exhibitions: Theatre 51% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: +23%.
- Understanding our audience and what they are saying about us: Theatre 40%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +7%.
- Helping us operate more efficiently: Theatre 39%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +9%.
- Critical response to our work or programmes: Theatre 36% (significant increase), Overall (implied lower). Change: N/A.
- Reaching a more diverse audience: Theatre 36%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +11%.
- Archiving: Theatre 35%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +1%.
- Reaching a younger audience: Theatre 33%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +8%.
- Connecting with new communities: Theatre 31%, Overall (implied similar). Change: N/A.
- Successful funding applications: Theatre 31%, Overall (implied similar). Change: N/A.
- Overall quality of our creative work: Theatre 28%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +1%.
- Production: Theatre 28%, Overall (implied similar). Change: N/A.
- Collaborating with other organisations on artistic projects: Theatre 25%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +4%.
- Overall strategy development and prioritisation: Theatre 24%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +2%.
- Reaching an international audience to a greater extent than before: Theatre 23% (significant decrease), Overall (implied higher). Change: +0%.
- Our organisation's overall revenue: Theatre 22%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +11%.
- Our organisation's overall profitability: Theatre 21%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +11%.
- How we exhibit our end product: Theatre 20%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +6%.
- Creating formal or informal educational resources: Theatre 19%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +2%.
- How we distribute our work and related products: Theatre 19%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +1%.
- Donations and fundraising: Theatre 18%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +3%.
- Helping us to deliver against other social and economic objectives: Theatre 16%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +5%.
- Improving access: Theatre 15% (significant decrease), Overall (implied higher). Change: +4%.
- Product sales (e.g. online merchandising, downloads): Theatre 11%, Overall (implied similar). Change: +4%.
Notes: Thinking back over the past 12 months, would you say your organisation's use of the internet and digital technology has had a major positive impact, a minor positive impact, or no positive impact at all on each of the following? Significant changes 2013-2017 (at the 95 per cent significance level) highlighted in bold, Arrows show significant differences to whole sector.
2017: Theatre n=283, Whole sector n=1,239; 2013: Theatre n=221.
Generally, large Theatre organisations experience more of an impact from digital technologies. Since 2013, the gap between large Theatre organisations and small organisations has increased significantly for various impact areas, mainly across audience development, business models and operations. For example: reaching a bigger audience (26 per cent gap vs. 8 per cent gap in 2013); engaging more extensively and deeply with our existing audiences (23 per cent gap vs. 16 per cent in 2013); our organisation's overall revenue (38 per cent gap vs. 13 per cent in 2013); selling tickets online (44 per cent gap vs. 20 per cent in 2013); helping us operate more efficiently (15 per cent vs. -3 per cent in 2013) and overall strategy development (26 per cent gap vs. 10 per cent in 2013).
Management factors
Theatre organisations continue to report lack of time and funding as the main barriers to their digital ambitions, consistent with the wider sector (see Figure 4). However, they are significantly more likely than the rest of the sector to identify these as barriers. Theatre organisations have seen no significant change over time with regards to barriers, although there has been a small decrease in the number who report a lack of funding to allocate to digital projects.
Figure 4: Top 5 Barriers felt by Theatre organisations (Theatre organisations vs. whole sector, 2017)
This bar chart shows the percentage of Theatre and Overall sector organisations reporting various barriers to achieving digital aspirations in 2017, and the percentage point change from 2013.
- Lack of in-house staff time: Theatre 74% (significant increase), Overall 68%. Change: -1%.
- Lack of funding to allocate to digital projects: Theatre 71% (significant increase), Overall 62%. Change: -6%.
- Difficulty in accessing external funding for digital projects: Theatre 62% (significant increase), Overall 55%. Change: -1%.
- Lack of in-house skills/knowledge: Theatre 38%, Overall 34%. Change: +0%.
- No senior manager with a digital remit: Theatre 37%, Overall 32%. Change: +4%.
Notes: To what extent do you see each of the following as barriers to achieving your organisation's aspirations for digital technology?
2017: Theatre n=275, Whole sector n=1,200; 2013: Theatre n=218.
Theatre organisations are significantly less likely to report having above average skills than the sector as a whole for three skills areas, as shown in Figure 5. They are significantly less likely to report having above average skills in preserving and archiving, distribution and exhibition, and business models.
Figure 5: Proportion that report their organisation to have above average digital skills – 6-10 out of 10 - compared to their peers (Theatre vs. whole sector, 2017)
This bar chart shows the percentage of Theatre and Overall sector organisations reporting above average digital skills (6-10 out of 10) in various areas in 2017.
- Marketing: Theatre 45%, Overall 46%.
- Creation: Theatre 34%, Overall 38%.
- Preserving and archiving: Theatre 27% (significant decrease), Overall 33%.
- Distribution and exhibition: Theatre 24% (significant decrease), Overall 32%.
- Operations: Theatre 36%, Overall 35%.
- Business models: Theatre 16% (significant decrease), Overall 21%.
Notes: For each of the following areas, how advanced do you feel your organisation's digital skill levels are compared to your peers?
2017: Theatre n=271, Whole sector n=1,187.
Across the different skill areas asked about in the Digital Culture survey, Theatre organisations are in line with the sector as a whole. Mirroring the activity areas shown in Figure 5, the skill which Theatre organisations report they are most well-served in is digital marketing. Theatre organisations report being as well-served as the whole sector (69 per cent for both). This is followed by multimedia/website design, with 53 per cent of Theatre organisations reporting being well-served (vs 50 per cent).
Since 2013, there has been a significant increase in the number of Theatre organisations reporting that they are well-served in data analysis, from 20 per cent in 2013 to 30 per cent in 2017, although no other significant movements.
More large Theatres report being well-served across skill areas than small and medium-sized Theatres. For example, 86 per cent of large Theatres report being well-served in digital marketing compared to 61 per cent of small Theatres and 74 per cent of medium-sized Theatres. The biggest gaps between large and small Theatres are across data analysis (61 per cent for large Theatres, 34 per cent for medium-sized Theatres and 18 per cent for small Theatres) and database management/customer relationship management (64 per cent for large Theatres, 34 per cent for medium-sized Theatres and 15 per cent for small Theatres).
Learn more about the 2017 Digital Culture survey findings
For a better understanding of how Theatre and other organisations are using digital, you can access the Digital Culture data portal and explore the full set of data yourself.
Digital Culture 2017
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