Theatre industry

The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Useful links

The state of British theatre in 2025: Growth, risk and the urgent need for public investment
Report published by the Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre in May 2025 providing an outlook for the theatre sector for the year ahead. Includes an overview of the sector, covering areas such as finance, infrastructure, recruitment, education and community engagement.

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Euromonitor
A full listing of reference products and research reports from Euromonitor, with a range of global, country and company level reports. Each report provides a contents listing and a useful executive summary reporting on the key trends in each country report.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces global industry research reports.

Society of London Theatre

A box office data report is produced annually by the Society of London Theatre. Includes data on audience attendance, gross revenue, average ticket price and number of performances across its member venues.

Theatres Trust

The Theatres Trust provides information on the number of theatres in the UK.

Office for National Statistics

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the Office for National Statistics collects financial information covering UK production, construction, distribution and service industries. Statistics available include:

• number of enterprises;
• total turnover;
• approximate gross value added at basic prices;
• total purchases of goods, materials and services;
• total employment costs;
• total net capital expenditure;
• total net capital expenditure – acquisitions;
• total net capital expenditure – disposals;
• total stocks and work in progress – value at end of year;
• total stocks and work in progress – value at beginning of year;
• total stocks and work in progress – increase during year.

The dataset Non-financial business economy, UK: Sections A to S includes statistics for:

• Performing arts (90.01)
  See Section R: Arts, entertainment and recreation
• Support activities to performing arts (90.02)
  See Section R: Arts, entertainment and recreation

HM Revenue & Customs

GOV.UK publishes annual statistics from HM Revenue and Customs on the creative industries. Covers the take-up of the creative industries' tax reliefs including theatre tax relief.

Broadway League

The Broadway League publishes statistics for Broadway in NYC for the past five seasons including grosses, attendance, playing weeks, play/musical breakdowns and average paid admission. Figures are also available for Touring Broadway.

UK

The Office for National Statistics publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) includes average employment costs within this sector which can be found in Table 14. Average employment costs are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees.

The data includes average employment costs for:

• authors, writers
• actors, entertainers
• dancers and choreographers
• musicians
• arts officers, producers and directors.

The annual Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), published by the Office for National Statistics, includes total employee and employment estimates for different industries for Great Britain and the UK. Figures are broken down to show full-time/part-time and public/private splits. The dataset Industry – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 includes statistics for:

• Performing arts (90010)
• Support activities to performing arts (90020)

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

Corporation Tax: creative industry tax reliefs
Guidance published by GOV.UK on how to qualify and claim for Corporation Tax creative industry tax reliefs including Theatre Tax Relief.

Touring guide
Information and research from Arts Council England for arts and cultural organisations offering practical step-by-step guidance, case studies and country-focused details to help navigate the post-Brexit touring landscape.

Touring Europe - checklists for the arts, cultural, creative and heritage sectors
Guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport on steps to take when planning a tour of Europe. Includes checklists for musicians and the visual and performing arts sectors.

Theatres Trust

The Theatres Trust provides resources and advice for UK theatres on areas including grants and funding.

Theatres directory
Database maintained by the Theatres Trust containing information on almost 4,000 theatre buildings. Includes historic records and buildings still in use as theatres.

The websites of trade bodies and other organisations in this sector are a useful source of industry overviews, contacts and statistics.

UK

• Arts Council England
• Arts Council of Northern Ireland
• Arts Council Wales
• Association of British Theatre Technicians
• Creative Industries Federation
• Creative Scotland
• Independent Theatre Council
• Society of London Theatre
• Stage Management Association
• Theatres Trust
• UK Theatre

Europe

• Federal Association of Independent Theatres (Germany)
• German Theater Association
• Union des Théâtres de l’Europe (UTE)

Americas

• Broadway League (US)
• Theatre Communications Group (US)
• Professional Association of Canadian Theatres

Oceania

• Theatre Network Australia

Global

• International Theatre Institute (ITI)

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.

• Theatres Magazine (UK)
• Sightline (UK)
• The Stage (UK)
• American Theatre

Hyperlinks

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