The access revolution: how digital theatre is engaging marginalised audiences

As the UK reflects on a year of lockdown, we also contemplate the industries devastated by the effects of the pandemic – few perhaps more so than the arts. In a sector that relies completely on the mass gathering of live audiences, the upheaval and impact that the Coronavirus pandemic brought truly cannot be understated – and theatres around the country find themselves in their most perilous position in modern history.

However, as our nation’s cultural venues adapted and reimagined their output amidst the lockdown – most notable was the rise in the production and distribution of digital theatre for online audiences.

The last year has seen a rapid progression of the format: from the hasty release of archival recordings in the first weeks of quarantine; the advent of ‘Zoom theatre’; and the culmination in the now regular production of live streamed theatre – shows filmed specifically with digital audiences in mind, resulting in a hybrid genre of film and theatre that works to redefine exactly what ‘theatre’ is.

Initially done in an effort to keep audiences engaged through the lockdown, one of the more unexpected benefits of digital theatre has been a quiet revolution in accessibility – digital technology has brought the arts to homes for the first time, making theatre attainable to previously marginalised audiences from all walks of life.

One of the consistent and widely discussed issues with theatre pre-pandemic was the extortionately high cost of tickets – effectively cutting off a large chunk of the public from being able to attend theatre in the first place. According to the latest figures published by the Society of London Theatre in 2018, the average ticket price paid in the West End that year was £49.25 (up 5.4% on the year prior). Meanwhile, the average top-price West End ticket totalled a sky-high £116.09. In a 2018 interview, legendary theatre director Peter Brook identified the industry’s “main fight is against the monstrosity of excessive seat prices.”

In the early days of lockdown, the National Theatre was quick to react to the realities of the pandemic, responding in earnest with the formation of National Theatre at Home. For sixteen consecutive weeks in the early, uncertain days of quarantine, the NT dug into their video archive to present their shows for entertainment-hungry audiences on YouTube. Most crucially, they released the shows for free, undoubtedly reaching new audiences that may have never been able to access the National Theatre – or the sector as a whole – before.

National Theatre at Home also succeeded in engaging a global audience of 15 million people across its run – unquestionably unlocking theatre for audiences geographically restricted. In England, 17% of people live in rural areas, but only 5.9% of the Arts Council for England’s National Portfolio organisations reside in these areas – showing a huge disparity in the access to theatre in any form in England’s more secluded regions.

Over at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, who produced a revival of the musical RENT for online audiences late last year, Artistic Director Joseph Houston recognises the potential that digital theatre has in reaching these isolated audiences: “Certainly, I think as an organisation, online theatre is something we’ll be thinking about even when we’re back live. There’s a beauty there that if people for whatever reason can’t travel, or people are isolated; capturing a show, and giving them the chance to experience it is so important.”

The issue of isolated audiences is exacerbated when you consider theatre’s access problems when it comes to audiences with disabilities. A 2016 report by Arts Council for England identified the difficulties disabled audience members face at our cultural venues, with one respondent stating: “I’m a wheelchair user. Going to live theatre, it is always an issue: where are we going to sit? How do I get to the loo? All that caper! Some venues are easier than others, but some are absolutely hopeless.”

The opportunity to experience theatre digitally is vital to engaging disabled audiences with these access requirements. Similarly, the streamed format exceeds in improving the experience for those audience members with hearing or visual impairments – by use of closed captioning or audio description.

As evidenced in a 2011 report by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, there is “significant association between cultural engagement and subjective happiness” – and the continued use of digital theatre post-lockdown undoubtedly supports this engagement.

With the successful rollout of the vaccine, the end of lockdown looks in sight. Come summer, many theatres are preparing to welcome audiences back into their venues in-person for the first time in well over a year. Digital theatre looks to be part of the remit going forward, which can only be good news for marginalised audiences. But perhaps there’s a vital opportunity to make this quiet revolution louder and continue even more vigorously in making theatre accessible for all.

Photo Credit

Left: RENT at the Hope Mill Theatre (2020) © Pamela Raith
Centre: One Man, Two Guvnors at National Theatre (2012) © Johan Persson
Right: Hamilton at Richard Rogers Theatre (2016) © Joan Marcus
Background: © Robert Wallace