Why is ‘COMMERCIAL’ a dirty word in theatre?

Convener(s): Eleanor Lloyd         

Participants: Lots of people, didn’t catch everyone’s name

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

WHAT DOES COMMERCIAL MEAN?

Specifically, that it is paid for by investors who take a risk in the hope of making a profit.

WHY IS IT A DIRTY WORD?

People who aren’t earning money wish they are

Commercial plays are necessarily less artistically valuable

If you’re successful people get suspicious of you

For some people, looking for a play to suit an actor and the theatre is a strange way round. For other people it isn’t.

Subsidised theatre have been known to turn down a play because it is too ‘commercial’

General consensus was that it shouldn’t be a dirty word.

 

Other issues discussed:

Is Pinter commercial? Was he always? Ditto Ayckbourne, Stoppard (currently in the commercial West End, produced originally by the subsidised Royal Court)

Is commercial just popular theatre?

Isn’t all theatre commercial – as long as there is someone in the audience?

 In Poland there is no theatre subsidy therefore all plays have to pay their way and there is a thriving theatre scene.

If Derren Brown had done his show at the ICA in 1985 would he have bee very alternative rather than very commercial.

The Arts Council encourage companies to constantly make more and more new work rather than exploiting old work.

University drama departments under emphasise the importance of an audience wanting to watch what you make

A company such as Shared Experience has successfully revisted old show and reinvent them as commercial productions.

Should commercial producers support the creation of work in the subsidised sector? Do they?

Commercial producers commission play and buy rights.

It used to happen more than it does

Some producers and subisidised theatres have long running understandings

Commercial producers to co-produce with subsidised theatres and ACE happy with this.

 

CONCLUSIONS

There needs to be better relationships, more trust and transparency between subsidised and commercial sector

Producers should be encouraged/able to work in both

The collaborations should happen earlier in the process.

Final thought:

IS IT TRUE THAT THE VAT THE GOVERNMENT EARNS FROM COMMERCIAL THEATRE TICKETS IS GREATER THAN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SUBSIDY GIVEN TO THEATRE.

We think this might be in the Wyhndam (sp?) report