A report unveiled today provides some interesting trends in theatregoing and confirms some truisms.
Contrary to popularly held theories, 16- to 19-year-olds are now the most likely to attend the theatre, whilst 45- to 54-year-olds are the least likely to attend, and amongst theatregoers 66% want to maintain or increase the number of musicals and plays they attend this year. 63% of the UK population attended a performance at a theatre last year.
On the downside however, poor behaviour is prevalent with theatregoers admitting to conduct they find unacceptable: checking one's mobile phone during a performance is considered the least acceptable behaviour, though more than one in four has done it at least once.
Long-running musicals Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and The Lion King remain highly popular amongst theatregoers, but other statistics show audiences are more experimental than might have been assumed. Theatre attendance is highest in London and the south east and lowest in the east Midlands.
Sophie Crosby, Vice President Insight for Ticketmaster International, said: "Information and insight about theatre-goers habits and attitudes, compared with Broadway or the film industry that regularly share data in trade publications, is surprisingly underutilised.
"This report demonstrates LiveAnalytics wealth of data and understanding, which we hope will benefit the industry and help it to continue to evolve and remain competitive."
The report, conducted by LiveAnalytics (Insight division of Ticketmaster International, Live Nation Entertainment) is available to read on the Ticketmaster web site.