Report on Touring From Arts Council England Finds Dance and Drama Declining and Musicals 'Flourishing'

A new report conducted by Arts Council England has found that the number of plays touring England has fallen 64% since 2019, which had indicated that changes must be made in the industry.

The State of Touring across the Performing Arts Ecology, the research report conducted by The Audience Agency on behalf of Arts Council England, examined the state of touring across theatre, dance, music and combined arts to indoor venues with over 150 seats; and is informed by extensive consultation with a range of sector bodies, touring organisations, venues and individuals.

The study found that the drama and dance sectors have faced the largest drop, while large-scale productions such as musicals were found to be "flourishing." This has been caused, in part, by smaller venues being forced to reduce their programming due to lack of funds since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other key findings from the report show that organisations that produce work are struggling, particularly theatre and small-scale combined arts and children’s/family work, plus new work or by emerging artists.

The study also has found that tours are now typically shorter and more concentrated in bigger cities and that ticket prices for touring events have not risen with costs or inflation. 

The study was conducted to inform the changes that Arts Council England will be making to invest and support the touring ecology more effectively as funder and development agency. 

Arts Council England plans to reform their funding structure to make it simpler and easier to use with a new Touring Service to be designed, with a phased rollout to begin in 2026/27.

This will incorporate the organization's traditional grant-giving as well as building on the Incentivising Touring model to better support innovation and risk-taking, and help tours to scale or commercialise through a range of investment mechanisms, including repayable grants.

Arts Council England will also build on the success of the Incentivising Touring Repayable Grants with guidance for a third round published this June, and will invest in the Local Touring Theatre Alliance which is working with over 150 mid-scale venues and producers.

Learn more and read the full report here.