"You are the topic. You are the centre. You are the occasion. You are the reason why": A Study of the Key Strategies Employed by Four Contemporary UK Theatre Companies to Cultivate and Develop Audience Engagement
This thesis examines the role of four contemporary UK theatre companies, National Theatre Wales; Theatr Iolo; The Royal Court Theatre; Splendid Productions; and the strategies each of them employ in reaching out to and engaging with potential audiences. The background and origin of each of these companies is key to how they have developed, evolved and have made a significant contribution in making each of the companies and the work they produce unique. An ever-changing society has required an ever-changing range of strategies in order to produce work that is both relevant and meaningful to a contemporary audience. Incorporating evidence from publications, reviews and practitioner interviews the research study highlights how theatre audiences have significantly changed and how the four companies are challenging the traditional view of what is theatre. Each of them explores a variety of strategies, which go beyond simply buying a ticket and sitting in traditional theatre-watching actors on a stage. They recognize that in order to engage with audiences theatre must sometimes be taken to the audience and that engaging with the education sector is key to ensuring that theatre will continue to flourish with future generations.
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