Theatre Inclusion (Campaign)

Background

As a result of several years of research* and campaigning by myself and other interested parties Creative Scotland finally agreed to launch a pilot project. The objective of the pilot was to address poor attendance of tax-subsidised Theatre by taxpayers from socially excluded areas (the pilot was to start with Glasgow).

Creative Scotland has yet to deliver the pilot project. The signers of this petition request they deliver on their promise - please sign and share the petition.

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The pilot has 3 components:

• Tickets for all tax subsidised Theatre cost £5 if you live in a postcode ranked between 1-999 on the SIMD (Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation).
• Pro-active work will be done to encourage those eligible to take advantage of the offer.
• Ongoing box office data will be checked to monitor progress.

Points 2 & 3 are an acceptance that for some, ticket prices are not the reason they don’t attend Theatre subsidised by their taxes. In summary, it’s not enough to simply drop ticket prices.

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* Collected box office data clearly demonstrates that taxpayers living in SIMD postcodes 1-999 (our most deprived) are not attending Theatre subsidised by their taxes.

* The wealthiest, best educated and least ethnically diverse 8% of the UK population are the most culturally active –Warwick Commission 2015