Drop in attendance | Rooms half full

The cultural offering in the field of performing arts was abundant this fall, but several presenters had difficulty filling their theaters. The theater, dance, circus and even song sectors, particularly for emerging artists, are struggling to sell out. Several rooms were even half full. Or half empty…

“This is something that we expected to observe last year, coming out of the crisis,” tells us the co-general director and artistic director of the Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Sylvain Bélanger. But in the fall of 2022, it went really well. So, we asked ourselves: what happened between last May and September? And there, of course, we cannot ignore the economic news, the inflation, the difficulty people have in paying their mortgage, the choices they must face. »

Sylvain Bélanger believes that the drop in attendance at his theater, whose occupancy rate since September has hovered around 50% on certain evenings, is multifactorial.

“People’s behavior has changed,” he assesses to explain this decline. I have the impression that since the end of the pandemic, they are more homebodies. When they buy tickets, it’s really at the last minute. What we also notice is that those who really like theater see less of it. Because not only is there a drop in our subscriptions, but there are also fewer shows per subscriber, which tells me that either people are also subscribing to other theaters, or they have chosen to lower their budget trips to the theater. »

His colleague Étienne Langlois, co-general director and administrative director of the Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, does not want to draw hasty conclusions at this stage of the season, but he emphasizes that “the overall occupancy rate to date is well below that of recent years. As for subscriptions, there is an encouraging return, he says, but the theater is still about 15% below its pre-pandemic subscriptions.

The general director of the Théâtre Duceppe, Amélie Duceppe, also speaks of a “clear decline”. “Last year, the offer was just as impressive, but we raised several additional ones. Maybe there is more insecurity among people, she suggests. This season, so far, it’s difficult. Even with a hit piece like Newsroom, we had an average occupancy rate of 65%. As we have fewer subscribers than before, we have to sell a lot of single tickets to make our shows profitable. »

The Professional Association of Show Presenters RIDEAU, which brings together 350 performance halls and festivals in Quebec, confirms this trend.

Its general director, Julie-Anne Richard, tells us that only comedy shows – whose occupancy rates are around 80% – a few popular plays like The idiots’ dinner and concerts by established artists like Michel Rivard, Bleu Jeans Bleu or Daniel Bélanger are doing well. Emerging artists and the majority of theater, dance or circus shows have much lower attendance rates.

Some rooms are doing better

Although just about all theaters struggle with the same challenges, some are faring better. At the Prospero, co-general directors Philippe Cyr and Vincent de Repentigny believe that the momentum of the new management, combined with the implementation of “accessible pricing”, has contributed to attracting spectators to this theater in the east of the city.

People actually pay the rate they choose, without being asked any questions. They have the choice between tickets at $25, $35, $42 or $50. “Someone who cannot afford a $50 ticket, regardless of their age or situation, can buy a $25 ticket. We want them to take an artistic risk rather than a financial risk,” explains Vincent de Repentigny.

The new management of Prospero has also made the bet of repeating pieces that have been successful. We think in particular of Hidden Paradise, created by Alix Dufresne and Marc Béland and resumed in September. The programming therefore certainly has an effect on ridership, which has hovered around 80% since the beginning of September.

“At the moment, we can’t complain,” Philippe Cyr tells us, “but we know that we have to work harder than last year. Like other theaters, we are affected by inflation, the media crisis, the blocking of news by Meta, the purchase of tickets at the last minute, and we do not have many resources for our communications, our marketing , for cultural mediation, for follow-up also with school groups, so we need the help of granting organizations. »

At the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM), artistic and general director Lorraine Pintal also notes that pre-sales of tickets are slow and difficult.

“Fortunately, the ticket office compensation policy is still in effect,” she exclaims. I think that last year, there was an interesting turnout because after two years of pandemic, it’s as if people were rediscovering the theater, but this year, there is a decline. So far, we’ve been lucky because with The 7 branches of the Ōta River And Courville, we kind of created the “Robert Lepage” event, so we filled our room. But we will see with Polytechnic Project how people will react. »

What saves the TNM is its very high subscription rate. Although the renovated theater has not yet regained its pre-pandemic number of subscribers, it is still below the 10,000 mark, a feat in itself.

M^me Pintal believes that in the current context, theaters must be “more creative in their communication strategies”.

In music, compete with Shania Twain

As for independent performance halls, which host music concerts, the situation is similar, even if we are not too worried at the moment.

The new owner of Club Soda and the Ministry, Louis-Armand Bombardier, tells us that the situation of this 900-seat room is stable, with an annual occupancy rate of around 60%.

“What has changed the most is really the behavior of spectators, who buy in the week before the show. But our biggest challenge is the abundant supply of shows,” says Mr. Bombardier.

Seeing spectators ready to pay $300 or $500 for major events, Mr. Bombardier wonders if smaller presenters could also increase the price of their tickets.

” I think so. Our production and transport costs have increased. Our musicians are not paid more. And we sell our tickets for the same price, around $45. Are the Quebec public ready to pay a little more? That remains to be seen. But I think a show is worth at least $60. So we’re thinking about that. »