Good morning and welcome. We are delighted that you have all taken time out of your busy schedules to join us here today at the Southbank on a glorious day where London is really showing itself off to the world.
I’m Claire Walker and I’m Hannah Essex, and we have the absolute privilege of being the Co-CEOs of the Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre.
A lot has happened in the twelve months since we last came together right here at the Southbank.
As we once again face the prospect of a new Prime Minister and perhaps yet another Culture Secretary, it would be easy to focus solely on the challenges. But today is also an opportunity to recognise just how much we have to celebrate. There is so much to be immensely proud of as a theatre sector.
Across the country, from Exeter to Edinburgh, theatres continue to fill auditoriums, producers are developing ambitious new work, and venues are demonstrating, day after day, that they are both fantastic places of entertainment and civic anchors that bring their communities together.
Our sector touches every aspect of society. We drive economic growth in our towns and cities. We improve health and wellbeing not least through our outreach and community programmes.
We inspire the next generation through education, workshops, free and discounted tickets.
We shape our national identity, tell the stories that define us and showcase Britain’s creativity to a global audience.
The contribution that each of you in this room makes, really matters.
Together, we are a social, cultural, and economic powerhouse, that is admired around the world for its creativity, innovation and ambition.
In a world of extraordinary technological advancement, where so much of life is experienced through the lens of a phone, one thing has consistently bucked the trend – the enduring power of live performance and the shared experience of witnessing it together. In 2025, 34 million people attended a SOLT & UK Theatre member production.
As you are all acutely aware, our popularity does not automatically translate into financial sustainability. Margins are becoming ever thinner as costs continue to rise. We know that means that many of you are having to make tough decisions on and offstage, just to balance the books.
Today’s conference is both a celebration of theatre’s enduring power and an opportunity to delve into the challenges facing our industry. We believe that collectively we can find the solutions that will enable theatre to thrive amid rapid change, and enable us all to shape a more resilient, inclusive, and innovative future.
Over the past year, we have delivered high-profile moments for our industry including the UK Theatre Awards, West End LIVE, and the fiftieth anniversary of the Olivier Awards which saw the ceremony return to a primetime slot on the BBC and a new headline partner Cunard. The night itself was a triumph with a staggering 18% of the BBC2 viewers on the night aged between 16-24. In the run up to the awards, we celebrated theatre across the country through our Love Your Local Theatre campaign which really highlighted the theatre ecology that nurtures talent and develops work.
Our team has responded to more than five-hundred member enquiries, visited more than 80 venues, and sold around 12.5 million pounds worth of Theatre Tokens. We have personally enjoyed seeing first-hand the extraordinary work taking place throughout the capital and across the country, visiting inspiring new venues, meeting members and witnessing your creativity and resilience.
SOLT & UK Theatre have responded to a raft of consultations to inform the Employment Rights Act, Martyn’s Law, and the National Curriculum, to name a few, taking every opportunity to ensure that policymakers better understand your needs, your ambitions and your impact.
However, we cannot afford to be complacent. We know there is more to be done to secure the future of our industry.
As representatives for the sector, we will continue to campaign to ensure the right conditions are in place so that our sector and members are not forced to battle on with ever-decreasing resources – but can instead focus on continuing to produce and present the best theatre in the world.
Today is a valuable opportunity for members and industry colleagues to come together and explore critical topics such as nurturing new work, developing audiences, national and international touring, tackling skills shortages, creating more accessible theatre spaces, navigating devolution, and more.
It is the limitless creativity, resilience and ambition of our theatre-makers that make this industry truly formidable. So, it is fitting that the theme of this year’s conference is Ambitious Futures: Theatre in a Changing World.
With the future of our industry in mind, how can we use our imaginations, both as individuals and a collective, to go beyond what we think is possible? We encourage you to engage in these conversations today with a sense of ambition, an open mind, and a willingness to ask some important questions: What do you want to change? How can we be bolder, more ambitious, and more collaborative and more determined in shaping the future of our sector? How can UK Theatre support you to achieve this?
Every conversation today provides us with insights to inform SOLT & UK Theatre’s work now and and in the future so that we can truly represent the sector.
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