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Theatre: More Popular than Pop ConcertsDateline: 16th June, 2002 The findings of the MORI poll (see story) commissioned by the RSC are not only encouraging, they fly in the face of popular wisdom. Obviously young people go to pop concerts much more often than they go to the theatre, popular wisdom would have it. Not so! Whilst a quarter of those interviewed said they had attended a pop concert in the last year, 28% had been to the theatre. Young people hate Shakespeare and dismiss him as old-fashioned and irrelevant, says popular wisdom. No! Over a third consider him relevant to today. Obviously cinema, clubbing and sport are the most popular pastimes, but if we are going to be strictly correct, the latter two are minority interests for less than 50% take part. But before the theatre community starts dancing in the streets, we should just pause a while and look at the survey more closely. The young people interviewed were between 15 and 35. That's a big age span, going from those who are in the first fine flush of hormonal excitement to those who are settled with families and/or careers. I would suspect that the majority of clubbers are at the lower end (15 to 25) and the majority of theatregoers are from 25 upwards. Observation and anecdotal evidence would tend to support this: most of the young people I see at the theatre are twenty-somethings and above, whilst most of those from 15 to 20 that I know will grab every opportunity they can to chase the opposite sex, and, for the majority, that means clubbing. But it's still good news! What's even better is that only 4% find theatre either stuffy or intimidating. If that's the case, then we are assured that theatre does have a bright future, for, as those hormonally driven youngsters begin to settle down, a substantial number will gravitate towards theatre and, as they grow into middle age, many more will find theatre-going an attractive proposition. Again, anecdotal evidence and experience would support this suggestion. When I was a young teacher in my middle to late twenties, there were only a couple of us on the staff at the school where I worked who were regular theatre-goers: now I find I am bumping into more and more of them at the theatre. Some, I know, never put a foot inside a theatre until they were in their late thirties. The belief in the relevance of Shakespeare, too, is great news. Much of this can be laid at the door of cinema: Baz Luhrman and Shakespeare in Love have, as Michael Bogdanov once said, done more for Shakespeare's popularity than 25 years of the RSC. Once they become hooked, it's the exciting interpretations of companies like Bogdanov's English Shakespeare Company which keep them coming. I find the whole thing immensely cheering! Articles Indices: |
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