Australia’s theatre crisis

Australia’s theatre crisis

They say the show must go on, but in recent weeks, there have been a series of high-profile closures in Australia’s theatre industry... It’s raising alarm about how the arts industry is faring, when high-profile shows with big budgets aren’t attracting enough people to keep them going… So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll have a look at:

• What shows have closed

• Why they’ve found themselves in trouble

• And what can possibly be done about it

🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Andrew Williams

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Squiz the Shortcut

Back it up, what’s been happening?
A few big shows have been in the headlines recently after deciding to wrap up their seasons earlier than they’d planned. One of them is Waitress - which is surprising, given it’s been one of the more popular and successful modern stage musicals of the past decade. 

What’s it about?
It’s an adaptation of a cult film from 2007, with music from the singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles, including the fantastic song She Used to Be Mine, and was a big hit on Broadway, running for 4 years (which is a good innings in Broadway terms)… Since then, it’s been touring around the world - but it’s the Australian production that flopped. 

Who’s in it?
It has well-known names attached, including Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Rob Mills, and it opened in Melbourne with plans to eventually move for a run in Sydney. But it’s now going to close in a couple of weeks and it won’t make it to Sydney at all… Now, in isolation, that wouldn’t be a huge deal. But it’s part of a series of announcements along these lines in recent weeks… 

Which other shows have lowered the curtain?
In addition to Waitress, a musical production of Beetlejuice - also a big success elsewhere - announced it would close its Brisbane run on Sunday and cancelled planned runs in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide. Earlier this year, Back to the Future the musical closed after its Sydney run, with plans to tour the country also scrapped. Last year, Dear Evan Hansen cancelled planned trips to Adelaide and Canberra, and just last week a production of the opera Aida cancelled a planned run, pointing to freight and transport costs as the key reason.

So why are all these shows falling over? 
The obvious answer is that they aren't selling enough tickets to make them worth putting on. But the reason behind that is the question people in the industry are trying to answer. And this isn’t a problem that just affects the producers of the shows either - it’s an economic problem. The live performance industry generates enormous revenue for the Australian economy. In fact, more people bought tickets to live performances in 2024 than attended all of our professional sports combined. It also provides jobs for actors, technicians, crew, hospitality workers and a heap of others.

Why does it matter for audiences? 
As a country a long way from theatrical centres like London's West End and New York's Broadway, we don't get as many chances to see major musicals. If shows keep falling over and staying unprofitable, fewer of them will be staged, which hurts everyone who's a fan of theatre or works in the industries around it.

What do the producers say? 
They say it's only getting more expensive to stage these shows - and Australia is a particularly tricky place to do it. Michael Cassel Group, the production company behind Beetlejuice, says part of the difficulty with touring a big musical here is the long distances between our capital cities. It means shows need to sell really well to be worth doing. And Waitress producer John Frost pointed to cost of living pressures as being a big factor. When people have less expendable income, luxuries like theatre tickets are first to go.

So, how bad are ticket sales? 
We had a look at current sales for Waitress, and there are lots of coloured dots on the seating chart, which translate to unsold seats. For some shows, less than half the seats have been sold. As for prices, tickets range from $70 for the cheapest seats to $180 for the most expensive. That's an expensive night out, but not particularly more than theatre has cost in the past - it's just a price people now seem largely unwilling to pay.

Is it all down to cost of living?
That's the most common theory from producers, but it doesn't explain everything. The most recent data shows Australians are still very happy to attend live events… Live Performance Australia reported our highest ticket revenue and attendance ever in 2024. Most of that growth came from concerts and musical performances, though… In the same year, theatre revenue actually dropped.

So why is theatre struggling when concerts are booming? 
Well, not all shows are struggling. The Lion King, playing in Sydney at the moment, is a major hit with audiences turning out in droves. And that might be where the shows themselves come into play - if people are being careful with their money, they're more likely to pick something they know and trust, like The Lion King, one of the most famous musicals and movies of all time. 

So, they’re less likely to gamble on something unfamiliar?
Exactly… The 4 musicals that have closed are all relatively new - Waitress is the oldest of them. Beetlejuice (with music and lyrics from Aussie composer Eddie Perfect) and Back to the Future are based on famous movies, but the musicals themselves aren't as well known. And Dear Evan Hansen was a big Broadway hit, but it's not a household name here. 

What’s in the wings?
Some analysts are wondering whether staging newer, less famous musicals with massive budgets isn't such a great strategy for Australia. Add transport, food and parking to ticket prices, and a night at a musical with your partner could set you back $400-500 - and even more for a family. Risking that on a show you're not sure you'll enjoy suddenly becomes a big call.

Anything else at play?
Yep… The way the industry works behind the scenes is another factor. According to Sydney Theatre Company boss Anne Dunn, advance sales are very important to staging productions in Australia, particularly touring ones. Producers look at advance sales to see if they'll have the money to take a show on the road. But cost of living pressures mean audiences are keeping their powder dry, hoping for discounts and cheaper tickets - and that hurts advance sales. So if a production like Waitress isn't getting to Sydney, it's definitely not getting to Perth.

So, what can be done about it? 
Putting aside fixing the cost of living (plenty of people are working on that one…), one idea that's been floated is a tax break from the government for staging a live musical or play in Australia. The CEO of Live Performance Australia wants a 40% rebate on production costs to encourage more producers to put on shows. We already have something like that for movies and video games, but not theatre. A similar scheme exists in the UK, and advocates say it's been revenue-positive there, so the push is firmly underway.

Does everyone like that idea? 
Not quite… Critics argue that the money could flow to producers who never needed it - essentially making successful shows like The Lion King even more profitable, rather than giving Waitress a longer run. 

What else is on the table?
The other idea being floated is to go smaller. So, rather than large-scale productions of lower-profile shows, producers could bet on smaller sets and smaller costs, or more recognisable titles like The Phantom of the Opera or Cats. The argument against that is that there's a large and enthusiastic theatre audience in Australia that wants the chance to see the great new stuff the industry has to offer - and lately, those chances have been limited, especially outside Sydney and Melbourne.

So, what happens next?
The government hasn't responded to Live Performance Australia's plan yet. But in the meantime, Waitress is on for another couple of weeks, and there will be lots of eyes on upcoming shows like Fiddler on the Roof (starting in Sydney in July), Six (a more recent Broadway hit, in Sydney and Melbourne), Mrs Doubtfire (another musical adaptation of a famous movie, in Melbourne), and Book of Mormon (in Brisbane and Perth). So while lots of producers are still giving it a go, the industry will be watching closely to see whether more cancellations pile up in the coming months.

Onto our Recommendations

Reading: This article in Aussie Theatre on this particular issue - it’s got some good insights from people in the industry.

Watching/Listening: This Tony Awards performance of She Used to Be Mine - the big song from Waitress, with the writer herself Sara Bareilles as one of the performers. 

A tenner for a whole roast chook

Supermarket roast chickens might set you back $13 these days, but Red Rooster's dropping its whole chooks to $10 every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 18 August. Each bird is hand-seasoned, dry brined for 12 hours and slow-roasted in-store for at least 55 minutes. Stocks are limited and not every restaurant is taking part - check if yours is here.

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