We have an Ardent roadmap; now what’s the destination?

Like so many, we’ve been sitting tight, waiting for a way out of this pandemic that has affected and sadly taken so many lives. We thank and celebrate those who have looked after us and console those who have lost loved ones. Nothing about this pandemic has been easy.

The mass vaccination underway in this country is a game changer and we’re cautiously optimistic about the future. There’s a potential route out and that includes the return of theatre. After a year of having our creative hands bound, we’re longing to be let loose in a rehearsal room.

Although we’re driving forward, we mustn’t forget the journey we’ve been on. Many companies and venues have not survived, and many artists have fallen through the gaps of government support. The road to recovery isn’t a smooth ride; there’s funding to raise, relationships to rekindle, audiences to find and confidence to rebuild. This will take time. The road ahead remains uncertain, and we have no idea how this virus will behave going into another Autumn and Winter.

And when theatres do return, will it just be business as usual? Or does our destination need to change? This pandemic has shone a spotlight on the inequality that exists in our society. More people are out of work; more people are living in poverty. Theatre has always held a mirror up to the world, to reflect it, comment on it, celebrate it and change it. More than ever, we must adapt to be there for everyone, not just the privileged few who can afford it.

Lockdown demonstrated how technology has changed the way audiences engage with arts and culture, from online access to previously recorded shows to live performances streamed directly to ticket buying punters at home. The industry was heading in this direction anyway; lockdown just accelerated that process and forced many who were hesitant or resistant to embrace it early. The flipside is, there’s perhaps streaming fatigue and our hope is that audiences are craving the in-person, shared experience of being in a theatre together. The future destination is probably a blended one, where both venue and home-based access to performance is offered up.

And dare we suggest that arts funding in this country needs to change? It’s no secret there have been winners and losers, with smaller, less resourced organisations falling by the wayside in a rush to protect the status quo. An anecdotal observation perhaps, but arts funding has always been a bit of a broken model. There are mainly two camps: large scale commercial productions, where ticket prices are high to repay those who invested funds to pay for it; and small-scale subsidised productions that can’t recoup costs from box office and rely on grants and donations to make up the shortfall. With the latter, applications for funding have always needed to demonstrate breakeven budgets with zero profit, leaving the company financially at square one once the show is over. A far better approach, surely, would be to allow applicants to remove ticket sale income from their budgets to give them some profit to invest in the next piece of work and so draw less on grant funding next time. Maybe this is one direction change too far.

For now, we wait and plan; wait to see how the roadmap unfolds and plan for the return of shows, workshops and activities. The destination may not yet be fixed, and the road ahead may be full of bumps, potholes and stopping off points, but it’s a journey we’re excited to be travelling and one we hope you’ll join us on.