Key facts
- Two major touring musicals, 'Waitress' and 'Beetlejuice', have cancelled upcoming shows and tours in Australia.
- The Italian opera 'Aida' has also been cancelled due to escalating production and touring expenses.
- Producers cite rising costs, interest rate hikes affecting consumer spending, and lower consumer confidence as reasons for cancellations.
- The cancellations are expected to lead to hundreds of job losses within the theatre industry.
- Industry bodies are advocating for tax reform, specifically production tax offsets, to support commercial theatre.
- The UK's Theatre Tax Relief is highlighted as a successful model for stimulating investment and job creation in the sector.
Australia's live theatre industry is facing significant challenges, with two major touring musicals, 'Waitress' and 'Beetlejuice', cancelling upcoming shows and tours due to escalating production and touring costs, coupled with softer-than-expected box office sales. The blockbuster Italian opera 'Aida' has also been cancelled. Producers cite a combination of factors including rising freight and labour costs, interest rate hikes impacting consumer confidence and discretionary spending, and the logistical complexities of touring across Australia.
John Frost, producer of 'Waitress', stated that while audience enthusiasm was strong, attendance levels were insufficient to support production costs. Similarly, Michael Cassel Group, the production company for 'Beetlejuice', cited increasing cost pressures from touring vast distances and a cautious consumer environment as making the run unsustainable. TEG Live's Claudia Coffey noted that cancelling 'Aida' resulted in a $2 million loss and five years of work, deeming the logistics of moving 400 people and 28 containers untenable.
Graeme Kearns, CEO of Foundation Theatres, warned that the cancellations would leave major theatres dark for extended periods, resulting in hundreds of job losses for performers, musicians, technicians, and support staff. He described buying theatre tickets as being at the apex of discretionary expenditure, making it difficult to attract audiences to unfamiliar shows.
Industry experts, including Suzanne Jones, CEO of Jones Theatrical Group, are calling for urgent tax reform, specifically production tax offsets similar to those in the UK. Jones highlighted that musicals cost tens of millions of dollars to stage and that current rising costs are outpacing ticket price increases. She pointed to the UK's Theatre Tax Relief, introduced in 2014, which provides significant tax deductions and has been shown to attract investment and create jobs.
Analysis by Live Performance Australia suggests that a 25-40% tax offset in Australia could be self-funding, generate economic activity, create thousands of jobs, and significantly increase the number of new productions. The Media Entertainment and Alliance (MEAA), representing affected workers, supports tax reform but also advocates for government-funded 'cultural passes' for young Australians to boost ticket sales and accessibility, noting that family ticket prices can be prohibitive.