Adolescence creator and award-winning screenwriter Jack Thorne warns of the risks of underinvestment in British theatre — echoed by SOLT & UK Theatre leaders calling for long-term action.
Playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne, creator of Netflix’s Adolescence, delivered a passionate and hard-hitting keynote speech at the 2025 Theatre Conference, urging political leaders to recognise the scale of challenge facing the British theatre sector and to act before it’s too late.
“The future looks bleak for the future of our creative industries unless we act now,” Thorne told a packed auditorium at the Southbank Centre. “Unless we let our government know the situation we’re in. Unless we get them to recognise that theatre doesn’t make sense in pockets of Britain but rather needs to be present in the entirety of Britain.”
Drawing on his own childhood experiences of affordable regional theatre and on stories from peers such as Lisa McGee, Laura Wade, James Graham, and Daniel Kaluuya – all of whom were educated in state schools from across the UK – Thorne painted a picture of an industry that once inspired a generation – and risks becoming inaccessible to the next.
“What once was plentiful and available to all is increasingly becoming rarefied,” he said. “Drama teaching in schools has been largely abandoned. Drama GCSE is becoming niche. Theatre outreach work is being cut back on. Theatres are contemplating shutting their doors.”
The speech coincided with the release of new sector data from the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre, showing that nearly 40% of venues risk closure without urgent government or capital investment, and one in four organisations ran a deficit last year.
Thorne quoted those figures directly, adding:
“There has been a 15% drop in regional theatre performances since 2019. These figures show that number is only going to grow.”
He warned that without intervention, the consequences would be cultural, social and economic:
“If you let this happen, the money you make from theatre and film and TV is going to dwindle to nothing. The growth of creativity happens in unexpected places – the next Daniel Kaluuya is hiding from you. To find him, you have to invest. And if you do invest, you will be paid back in droves.”
His rallying cry was echoed by Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, Co-CEOs of SOLT & UK Theatre, who welcomed the recognition the from Government of theatre as “frontier industry with high growth potential” in yesterday’s Creative Industries Sector Vision and called for strategic investment to match the Government’s rhetoric.
“British theatre is not a luxury. It’s central to our cultural, economic and civic life – and our collective future,” they said. “If we want this world-class sector to thrive, we need long-term, strategic investment: In infrastructure, in people, and in the creative pipeline that feeds not just our own industry, but the whole of the creative industries.”
“The Spending Review claims to deliver a major boost to the creative industries,” said Thorne, “but the figures tell a different story.”
Thorne emphasised the broader implications of government inaction:
“In an investment economy, to not invest in regional theatre is not just a mistake – it’s a potentially fatal one because it is going to destroy our future.”
Thorne’s speech was deeply personal, recalling the small, affordable experiences that ignited his imagination as a child:
“I remember making stuff. In school and out of school. I remember doing things in front of audiences, and imagining stuff in front of no audiences at all.” He continued, “If theatre wasn’t available locally and those tickets hadn’t been cheap – I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be in the career I’m in as a result.”
He championed efforts across the country – from local education departments to youth theatres, to trailblazing regional work by the likes of Julie Hesmondhalgh and James Graham – but stressed that these initiatives must not rely solely on willpower:
“These opportunities should not be carried out as an act of will. They should be supported. Given light.”
Both Thorne and the Co-CEOs were clear: what is needed now is policy action and public investment to prevent further decline – and unlock the full economic and cultural potential of theatre across the UK.
Read Claire Walker and Hannah Essex’s keynote here
Read The State of British Theatre 2025 here
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