The Big Freelancer Survey  2025

Freelancers Make Theatre Work present the Big Freelancer Survey 2025, the final instalment of five annual studies that aim to gather previously underrepresented data from performing arts freelancers.

The survey project is the largest of its kind, having received over 12,500 responses from the freelance workforce to date – Let’s keep it going, one last time!

Uniquely, this is a survey of freelancers, by freelancers, for freelancers. The dataset gathered is retained by FMTW, and all analysis and reporting is carried out for the benefit of the UK’s freelance performing arts workforce.

The 2025 survey is designed to build upon the data collected from the past four surveys, giving a trajectory of data over this period, as well as providing evidence-based insight into the current challenges facing freelancers, and an overview of the lived experience of freelancers over the last five years.

You can find the survey here.

Please share the survey link and information on the survey with the freelancers you work.  The resultant Big Freelancer Report 2025 will be shared widely across the industry to help buildings, organisations and government further understand the freelance workforce and the unique issues they face.

The data provided by the freelance community enables Freelancers Make Theatre Work to carry out evidence-based lobbying, which is vital in working towards the systemic change needed to build a fairer future. The information from this and past surveys will be shared with the whole industry to further understand the living and working conditions of freelancers, who make up over 70% of the theatre sector.

Past Big Freelancer Reports can be found here and more info on why the survey is important can be found in our blog post here.

The survey is presented in English, Welsh and an English plain text version, and will be open for responses until early April, but we encourage freelancers to respond as early as they can.