D&D 20: Touring New Work. How do we make it work together

The model for touring new work is in crisis and there is an urgent need for positive collective action. Called by Adam Quayle (Joint Artistic Director of Box of Tricks), this session at D&D 20 explored how we can work together to fix a broken model and shift the paradigm.

Initial introductions – broad challenges identified

• Funding

• Risk-averse programmers

• Skillset drain e.g. technicians, marketing teams

• Fees from venues – at a standstill for 15-20 years

• Time investment in planning and fundraising for a tour – unpaid labour

• Alternative routes - options outside of traditional models for funding and touring model?

• Touring circuit - weak / split weeks versus one-nighters. Dates offered reduced.

• Masking challenging stories in IP that appeals to audiences/venues?

• Overreliance on ACE?

• Political challenges of our times

• Devolution of funds – future impact on touring?

• Geography of base versus touring reach beyond location – case to ACE and funders?

Challenges of touring new work:

• Nervousness around new work - programming

• Seed funding to develop new work has gone

• Loss of artistic aims – sacrificed to financial imperatives?

• Co-productions between theatres – volume of theatre has dried up / shrunk in recent years

• Competition for funds – e.g. apply for this ‘opportunity’ to stage new work (and prize money!) rather than genuine investment in artists, development of new work and production fees

• Double / triple programming of venues – insecurity for artists and tour booking

• Reduction of touring space across the UK – e.g. studio/theatre closures

• Lack of seed funding and core partners that historically supported a bigger tour and acted as advocates to other venues

• Invest in people not programming?

• Audience development / marketing not supporting programming. Disconnect between departments mean that audience reach is failing.

• Filmed performances? Alternative access to audiences?

• Brand / corporate sponsors?

• Partnering with touring artist e.g. big comedian / celebrity? Could help grassroot artists to book a tour?

• Arts desks decimated - journalism and critics in crisis. How can we promote new work?

• Marketing teams – post-pandemic exodus has led to less experience and no knowledge base

• Price of shows – barrier to audiences?

• No conversations with AD’s anymore - only programmers / producers. Leads to programming decisions being led by money rather than artistic value?

• Potential event encouraging conversations between venues and companies/producers (talk to Matt Eames at The Lowry?)

• Marketing of shows – companies establish their own identity rather than relying on venues’ profile? Or should venues’ programming build audiences across a season? Studio identity through programming and quality work?

• Companies coming together to attract corporate / individual funding? Collective action to raise investment to be distributed between artists?

• Centralised funding: Submit one bid – funders will come to you if interested. 

Reduces workload and ideally connects funders and artists.

• Higher level of Theatre Tax Relief (TTR): Even higher rate for new work? Lobby government.

• Venues need to step up

• Marketing and audience development - venues take greater responsibility for building an audience

• Network of touring venues and companies? An event? D&D?

• No pre-press. No reviewers. New ways to get the word out?

• Effect of Covid - audience appetite for new work? Desire for more ‘challenging’ work?

• Trickle-down effect of pandemic felt now – especially for smaller companies

• Broken model - how do we change the paradigm?

• How can we work together as theatremakers?

• New touring strategy with ACE? Online feedback next week with Audience Agency. What do we need?

• How do we make the sector listen? How can we put this on the agenda? Talk to The Stage (e.g. Lyn Gardner)

• Licencing work internationally? Expanding global reach? More money outside the UK?

• Funding landscape? How do we rise to the challenge? How can we find alternative income streams and models?

• Fees lowering as costs increase – past the tipping point for touring finances?

• If touring dies, how will we connect collectively?

• Levy from West End success / streamer hits? Small percentage invests in new work

• Raise profile - groundswell demanding change

• Hodge Review – propose TTR and West End levy? Complete form.

• Crisis point - touring is in crisis and we need to affect change

• Conversations with ACE

• Burden on establishment (venues, ACE, etc) rather than small companies to effect change?

• Touring forums - quarterly conversations with touring companies as well as with venues?

• Touring circuits: venues talking for joined up approach and to establish touring circuits. Would help reduce carbon emissions too.

• Precedents for consortia of venues – Reinstate? Reimagine?

• Unpaid labour of planning and fundraising for a tour. Heightened in a period of such uncertainty for touring – no longer a sustainable model? (if it ever was!)

• Venues pull dates – Leaves artists stranded when tour booking and securing funds. NPO responsibilities?!? How can venues be held accountable?

• Should ACE’s investment in venues for touring be redirected to artists? Rather than small fees, we receive greater subsidy? Imbalance of hierarchies between venues and artists unhelpful. Venue touring budgets not ringfenced for bringing new work into venues (hence low fees) – so should we give it directly to touring companies/producers?

• EOI model - delay in ACE decision (22+ weeks) affecting relationships and sustainability of touring. Need to have so much in place – huge amount of work with massively reduced success rates

• Subsidised sector is not a profit-making business. Make a wider argument about artistic/social/cultural value rather than bottom line?

• Lessons in models for music/band support e.g record store day and big bands playing small venues where they started to support grassroots venues

Actions

The model for touring new work is in crisis and there is an urgent need for positive collective action. Here are some proposed first steps:

1. Produce an event for venues and companies/producers to discuss challenges and solutions.

2. Write a ‘white paper’ reimagining a sustainable model for touring new work– acting as a starting point to be proposed and ‘ratified’ at an event for venues/producers?

3. Research and identify facts and statistics to illustrate myriad challenges of touring new work – e.g. touring fees in 2010 versus 2025 as a % of production costs

4. Raise profile of cause within industry – e.g industry press, high-profile actors/creatives, etc

5. Engage sector and inform society to kickstart conversation – express state of crisis and make a clear case for positive change

6. Lobby ACE for overhaul in funding – especially Project Grants for Touring

7. Explore new models of investment – e.g. West End levy, record store day, TTR increase for new work

Session called by Adam Quayle (adam@boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk)