On Wednesday, SOLT President Eleanor Lloyd and some of the leaders in the commercial sector had a great meeting with the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and Shadow Culture Secretary, Thangam Debbonaire, to talk about how an incoming Government might best support growth of the theatre sector. We all emphasised the how the not-for-profit, publicly invested and commercial aspects of our sector act as an eco-system: we work together with incredible results. This landed well, and we believe that we are building strong and important relationships with these key politicians.

At a time when the Labour Party are writing their manifesto and planning their priorities for Government, we have an opportunity to illustrate the extent to which the investment already made in theatre through Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and public funding bodies is already paying back in both economic and social terms, especially in terms of young people’s access to culture and building a future workforce.

Both Rachel and Thangam have asked to see more about what sector is already doing to bring young audiences into your theatres and shows, participation activities and workforce development. We believe this evidence will help make the case for what more could be achieved with sustained investment through e.g. extending the current higher TTR rate and through additional public funding.

SOLT / UK Theatres are pulling together a document to share with them and other politicians before Christmas, and they need your input to build a comprehensive picture of the brilliant work going on across the sector.

Please use this form to share a short summary of the work you are doing to increase access to theatre – whether that is through ticket initiatives, work with schools and education programmes or other community activity.

We know it is a busy time of year but they do need this information as soon as possible so please could you (or someone in your organisation) complete the form by Wednesday 13 December, or your earliest convenience.

SOLT / UK Theatre are working to gather further content, including blogs and case studies, to support the Theatre for Every Child Campaign as we move into 2024; if they are not able to include your content in our document on this occasion, they will follow up with you in the New Year to highlight your work in other ways.

Complete the  form now!