Celebrity castings can help theatres in hard times, says new head of Bristol Old Vic | Theatre

Casting big stars in stage productions is sometimes needed because theatre is in an “undeniably challenging” moment and must compete with streaming services for people’s time and money, the incoming director of the Bristol Old Vic has said.

Rebecca Dawson will start as executive director and joint chief executive on 6 January, leading the oldest continually operating theatre in the English-speaking world into its 260th anniversary year.

In an interview with the Guardian, Dawson, who will work in partnership with the theatre’s artistic director, Nancy Medina, said theatre was in an “undeniably challenging” moment, still reeling from the Covid pandemic and austerity and now facing pressures from the cost of living.

In October, the debate over the casting of film and TV stars for the stage was renewed when Nadine Rennie, a co-chair of the Casting Directors’ Guild, said the trend was “killing” the industry and mid-scale theatres would be the first to go.

With Ncuti Gatwa starring in Born With Teeth, Alicia Vikander in The Lady From the Sea, Susan Sarandon in Mary Page Marlowe and Bryan Cranston in All My Sons there is no shortage of starry celebrities being cast for the West End right now.

And at the Bristol Old Vic this year, the likes of Mel Giedroyc and most recently the city’s own Jayde Adams have been cast in flagship productions.

Dawson, who previously ran Punchdrunk Enrichment, a charity that creates immersive theatre for schools and family audiences, and held roles at Arts Council England, said she thought casting big names was great as long as they were good.

“They have to be the right people, and you’ve got to go through a proper process to know that is the right thing,” she said.

“It’s part of a mixed economy,” Dawson said, emphasising that theatre needed to diversify its revenue streams to survive, giving the example of pantomime productions relying on a big-name casting to pull in theatregoers.

“It’s making people think ‘that’s interesting, I want to go and see that’,” she said. “Maybe next time they’ll go to a different show. For some audiences, that’s quite an interesting gateway.”

Asked if she considered streaming services such as Netflix as a direct competitor to theatre, Dawson said: “There’s a competition for people’s time and people’s money.

“People are really excited by going to the theatre and coming out but it’s good for organisations to take a moment to think ‘Are we doing things that are interesting to our community? How do we fit in this space, both locally, regionally and nationally?’.”

Dawson said audiences were less predictable than they used to be and larger commercial theatres had realised that a starry lead in a play could help them predict the demand for the show.

However, she added: “The important thing is that they’re good productions, it’s about talent rather than getting to a point where it’s just a celebrity badge.”

Another advantage was big stars’ attraction to theatre, with many seeking credibility, which again helped against “digital competitors”, Dawson said.

Theatre was dealing with the “long tail” of Covid, Brexit and austerity, while also battling with cost of living, she said.

But Dawson argued in support of increasing public subsidy for the theatre and arts, despite the headwinds faced by the UK government. She said Arts Council England grants had been at a standstill since about 2012, which in real terms equates to a near 50% cut.

“The government is clearly having to make lots of decisions where they find public funds and there are absolutely vital parts of our society which needs investment, life and death parts, about dignity and care.

“But I think, interestingly, the arts is a really important part of that picture. They can, if they’re properly resourced, add so much value.”

Theatres were not political organisations but there was an expectation for them to reflect their values through their output, on the stage, Dawson said.

“It’s about universal stories with themes that are relevant, that are important, and might make you think differently, might make you question something that you’d always thought and we want to get as many people through the door to come and see that.”

Despite the challenges, Dawson is optimistic about the industry. “The arts in general and theatre is incredibly resilient. They are creative for a living, and they respond very well to challenging circumstances, and sometimes it generates really interesting new ideas. There’s room for creative risk that establishes Bristol Old Vic for the future.”