Sectors | Performing Arts

Cultural Participation Monitor Key Findings:

• 47% of surveyed audiences agreed or strongly agreed that their local area was well served with opportunities to attend live performance, while 26% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
• 61% thought they attended the performing arts the same amount during the pandemic years as in those immediately preceding it, while 14% thought they had done it more often, and 25% thought they did it less often.
• 30% of all respondents had plans to see a live performance in the next 2 months.
• Overall, audiences expected to be attending live performances less than they did pre-pandemic (14% more often vs. 25% less often, 11% net less often) but slightly closer to home (6% net closer).

Where else Performing Arts Audiences engage

Explore our findings through the Pandemic:

• Culture Interests
• In-person Attendance
• Online Attendance
• Creative Activities

Culture Interests

When asked to rate the arts they are interested by certain categories from 0-10, the percentage rating their specific interest as being 8-10 was:

• 12% for ‘popular or mainstream’
• 9% for ‘classical or traditional’
• 7% for ‘contemporary or modern’.

Breaking that down a little further:

In-person Attendance

In the 12 months before the pandemic:

During or since the Covid-19 pandemic:

Breaking that down a little further:

For the activity of seeing a play at the theatre or other venue:

• this tended to be done locally (38% said the journey was up to 30 mins, 30% said up to 1 hour).
• The most important reasons were to be entertained (36%) and to do something sociable, spend time with others (22%).
• 85% found the experience met these expectations and 77% said it had a positive effect on their wellbeing.
• 83% were quite or very satisfied with the steps taken to ensure Covid-19 safety and 59% are prepared to return if these measures stay the same while 31% would with some reservations.

For the activity of seeing a classical music concert:

• this tended to be local (32% said the journey was up to 30 mins, 36% said it was up to one hour).
• The most important reasons were to relax, take your mind of things (22%), to be entertained (19%) and to be inspired or stimulated (19%).
• 81% found the experience met these expectations and 77% said it had a positive effect on their wellbeing.
• 89% were quite or very satisfied with the steps taken to ensure Covid-19 safety and 54% were prepared to return if these measures stay the same while 36% would with some reservations.

For the activity of seeing a live music gig:

• this was slightly less local (37% said the journey was up to 30 mins, 26% said it was up to 1 hour and 22% said it was more than an hour).
• The most important reasons were to be entertained (42%) and to do something sociable, spend time with others (28%).
• 89% found the experience met these expectations and 84% said it had a positive effect on their wellbeing.
• 81% were quite or very satisfied with the steps taken to ensure Covid-19 safety and 62% were prepared to return if these measures stayed the same while 29% would with some reservations.

Online Attendance

Creative Activities

To contextualise, we've looked a little into Performing Arts audiences' more general cultural activities during the pandemic:

• Since the Covid-19 pandemic, 11% of all respondents had played a musical instrument for pleasure and 5% took part in organised singing (e.g. choir), amateur dramatics or dance.
• Those playing musical instruments tended to do this frequently, with 50% doing it 4 or 5 times, whereas those participating in organised singing of amateur dramatics/dance did this a bit less (14% did it 4 or 5 times, whereas 45% did it 2 or 3 times). For both activities, just 4% did it for the first time during the pandemic.