The Stage

Youth theatre is under threat from schools, warn experts

Published Tuesday 24 May 2005 at 14:15 by Jeremy Austin

Young people’s theatre is being recognised by the industry as an integral part of the performing arts, but practitioners are concerned that it still faces pressures and prejudice from schools and central government.

Children’s writer David Wood chaired the breakout session entitled Young at the Heart. He told delegates that the Theatre 2005 conference had made young people’s theatre an integral part of the event. However, many warned that while this was the case, schools could not fit shows into their inflexible curricula, the government was refusing to bring drama back as a lesson, and funding bodies assumed wrongly that production costs were lower than for adult shows.

Speaking from the panel, Roger Lang, young people’s theatre co-ordinator at conference co-organiser the Independent Theatre Council, said that prices should not stop people from seeing theatre. In reality, it seemed that expectations of lower ticket prices dissuaded people from attending.

He added: “The first job I had as a general manager was in 1984. Back then there was always this assumption that black theatre was cheaper to produce and I think that same kind of assumption is being made with children’s work. Whereas in relative terms it is far more expensive to produce because your take is less.

“There is an argument that we sell ourselves too cheap and too short but that is not borne out by the families that are spending £70 to go to a football match.”

An Arts Council England spokesman said ACE was aware of how much it cost to put on theatre for youngsters - but delegates still insisted that only 15-20% of a play’s development money can come from earned income.

Director of Polka Theatre Annie Wood - who has to fund 50% of costs through box office cash - said even if pricing is correct, it was difficult to attract school groups because teachers worried that if children spend time out of the classroom and in the theatre, their exam grades will drop and the school would lose its place in the league tables.

“It is all about success in exams. We have to move away from that and put more joy into learning,” she said.