Glasow & Heinze - Innovationskrise im staatlichen Theatersektor?
Glasow, M., & Heinze, T. (2022). Innovationskrise im staatlichen Theatersektor? Eine Längsschnittanalyse für Theater in Nordrhein-Westfalen, 1995 – 2018. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpychologie, 74: 203–232.
This paper deals with the relationship between the repertoire of public theatres and the demand for theatre tickets. Based on an empirical analysis for one German state (North Rhine-Westphalia), it shows that the theatres’ overwhelming reliance on established plays will not counteract the decreasing number of theatregoers. While existing analyses, including social structure-centred audience research, have focused on the demand side, diagnosing the steady decline and aging of the cultural audience, the analysis presented in this paper addresses the supply side, especially the number of premieres and new productions as well as their adoption into the repertoire.
The conclusion is that recent efforts by public theatres on the municipal or regional level in the most populated German region have not been sufficient to stabilize the declining audience. The policy recommendation is that the theatres should invest more in innovative plays, especially in first showings. This goes above all for plays for children and youth, that have proved to have an above average success. In other words, the innovation of the repertoire, especially for a younger audience, could develop a new audience for public theatres. The authors conclude that decentralized competition as a characteristic of the theatre landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia represents a favourable institutional context for the development of the needed renewal of practices attracting new audiences.
Glasow & Heinze “Innovationskrise im staatlichen Theatersektor? Eine Längsschnittanalyse für Theater in Nordrhein-Westfalen, 1995 – 2018.”