Essay on National Theatre's Digital Strategy (PDF)

How does the use of strategy allow a cultural organisation to address current operational challenges to achieve its mission? 1.Introduction： In the 21st century, digital transformation is gradually becoming an iconic signature of arts organisations (Zakopoulos, et al. 2023). The issue that most th...

How does the use of strategy allow a cultural organisation to address current operational challenges to achieve its mission? 1.Introduction： In the 21st century, digital transformation is gradually becoming an iconic signature of arts organisations (Zakopoulos, et al. 2023). The issue that most theatres are facing nowadays is that in the digital transformation in the context of digital media, theatres need to adapt to the impact of the industry's development brought about by the digital era by increasing audience engagement, expanding audiences, and boosting financial revenues, as well as to be able to maintain a long term stable and sustainable development model（Horváth，2024). National Theatre's mission as the UK's oldest traditional theatre is ‘’Entertaining and inspiring audiences around the world, using our creativity, expertise and unique reach." (National Theatre, 2024 no pagination) National Theatre started NT Live in 2009, which is a major breakthrough and innovation in the development of digital arts in British theatre. NT Live's cinema broadcast programme broadcasts existing theatre productions or current productions in cinemas and public spaces. Not only that, NT Live extends the digital delivery model to allow for viewing at home through online consumption. (NESTA, 2024). By 2024, NTLive will have produced 100 live-recorded and live-broadcast performances, in addition to a number of acclaimed theatre productions that have been broadcast and screened in 70 countries around the world, both in theatres and through online streaming apps (National Theatre,2024). This artical will focus on how the National Theatre has developed specific digital strategies in order to meet the more important operational challenges of financial viability and audience engagement in the age of digital media. Combining audience development theory, arts organisational mission analysis and resource management techniques, it will critically analyse how the NT can be sustainable with the support of digital technology. 1 2.Background Development: The impact of National Theatre's developments in the context of the digital age: “Audiences interested in the arts today have an increasing capacity for digital engagement. Digital media platforms and digitally transformed operations can enhance the ability of audiences and arts organisations to engage in a deeper, more democratic type of link” (Wamsley, 2016 p.70). And the use of digital technology has also made innovative changes to the way traditional arts organisations communicate to their audiences. (Tajtáková, 2014) The National Theatre is valuable as a renowned theatre arts organisation in the UK for its historicity and artistry, and this unique historical value justifies the National Theatre's enduring presence. (Gielen, 2010) However, in the digital age, merely maintaining historicity and artistry may diminish the theatre's chances of sustainability（Tajtáková, 2014）. This suggests that NT needs to continually find a balance between finding innovation and respecting traditional arts to meet the pace of the current new media age.（Park and Kim，2024） This may likely indicate that the use of digital media has made technological innovation the norm for the future development of arts organisations. At the sametime，it can be seen that the initial major initiative of the National Theatre's digital transformation strategy has been the successful operation of NT Live and the enhancement of its brand dynamics, which has been recognised by audiences around the world（Park and Kim，2024）. Over time, NT Live's growth has gradually stabilised. However, with the onslaught of the Covid-19 in 2020, audience participation in offline theatres and cinemas dropped dramatically (Chatzichristodoulou, et al, 2022). According to statistics, “At the time when the outbreak was severe, over 15,000 theatre performances were cancelled in the UK, and box office losses were more than £303 million.”(GOV.UK , 2021,no pagination ).National Theatre struggled to cope with the issues of audience loss and economic crisis that arose during the epidemic through digital technology, pioneering 2 the NT at Home online streaming channel and developing its own app. (National Theatre, 2024). While other theatres and cinemas were still exploring and struggling with how to cope with the crisis, NT Live, after more than a decade's worth of experience in broadcasting operations, was already able to transfer recorded artworks to online streaming platforms more flexibly (Davies, 2024). Under the dual influence of the Post-COVID-19 world and the development of the digital age, National Theatre's innovative thinking has gradually made the development of theatre on streaming platforms a possibility that can be explored (Chatzichristodoulou, et al, 2022).This also contributes to a certain extent to the sustainable development of committed theatre online（Nestruck and O'Kane,2024） 3.Exploring new sources of finance through digital strategies: With the planned cuts in Arts Council England's donations to arts organisations, the inadequate funding chain has become one of the operational challenges faced by most theatres (Bland, 2022).The National Theatre uses multiple sources of funding to ensure the successful running of the organisation. Generally three main sources of funding are available to arts organisations: “Earned income, Public Funding, and Private donations” (Greer, 2021，no pagination) In terms of investment in acquiring public funding, publicly funded cultural organisations should be responsible for their own investment. Publicly funded cultural organisations should have a clearer articulation and positioning of their outward artistic identity and mission. (Devereaux, 2011) National Theatre, as a not-for-profit organisation, should aim to do more than just make more money, it should try to agree with the funding wishes of its funders and define specific responsibilities to help society fulfil its artistic mission. Of the subsidised arts organisations and institutions announced by Arts Council England for the period 2023 to 2026, National Theatre will plan to be subsidised by £16,157,000, placing it in third place amongst subsidised arts organisations in the UK. (England 3 Arts Council, 2022). This data suggests that although subsidies are decreasing, NT's current strategic direction is largely recognised by the Crown and Arts Council England is willing to continue to subsidise Natonal Theatre, which is likely to be driven by Arts Council England's strong emphasis on the development of digital innovations in its published ten-year vision (NESTA, 2024). National Theatre has also responded to the development of digital initiatives such as live cinema and online viewing to inject more artistic energy into the creative industries. Apart from the most significant official subsidies and funding, the National theatre struggles to find new sources of finance beyond the traditional theatre box office.NT strived to do this by partnering with other distribution teams in the form of, for example, BY EXPERIENCE which is “a global distributor of alternative content and events to the cinema screen.” (BY EXPERIENCE, 2024) NT Live has had a strategic partnership with BY EXPERIENCE for 15 years. In addition to National Theatre having separate partnership teams in the UK and China, BE distributes National Theatre's classic shows to cinemas and venues in other countries around the world. (National Theatre, 2024) This new revenue model no longer allows National Theatre to earn revenue only from live performances, but also through digital screenings with over 2,500 venues and cinemas around the world, which can lead to a wider range of funding sources such as box office or licensed rights. (NT Live, 2024) Such a funding strategy has allowed cinemas and theatres to achieve a “win-win” situation to some extent （ Greer, 2021). Theatres increase the diversity of the types of screenings shown, and NT has the opportunity to present proud works of art to the world through digital screen equipment, which echoes one of NT's most fundamental missions: to be able to inspire audiences around the world through creativity. (National Theater, 2024) However, it needs to be explored whether NT Live's profit model of live broadcasting in cinemas has an impact on box office revenues from traditional offline performances. bakhshi and Throsby (2014) suggest that, perhaps due to the substitution effect, audiences may be more inclined to attend theatres than live performances due to time 4 flexibility. Bakhshi and Throsby (2014) suggest that, perhaps due to the substitution effect, audiences may be more likely to attend theatres than live performances due to time flexibility. This may result in a lack of box office for live theatre. However, according to the “ facilitation effect” , after watching a good play online or in the theatre, audiences are more motivated to go to the theatre to experience the actors in person (Bakhshi and Throshi, 2004). Ultimately, based on the performance of the box office dataset for each theatre, it is clear that NT Live's digital strategy has been able to promote audiences' motivation to attend live performances to a certain extent. However, because of the small sample size referenced and the fact that the data year of the study was ten years ago, the conclusions drawn may be biased. Currently, in NT Live's public box office data, there is also no clear public data on the percentage of revenue from theatre performances versus cinema screenings. Therefore, National Theatre still needs to continue to monitor the funding and layout of its expansion through digital technology. 4.Balancing the artistry of the live theatre experience with digital innovation: In the section on Natinal Theatre's strategy to develop revenue streams through digitalisation, the impact on the revenue box office of offline theatres is critically analysed after the development of the revenue channels of live theatre and online streaming. Apart from the challenges in terms of funding, NT Theatre also faces the issue of balancing live and screen performances to give audiences a better artistic experience (NESTA, 2024). Through digital development and exploration, NT Live reduces the reliance on the physicality of the theatre and breaks down the constraints of distance and time, creating more opportunities for audiences in different geographic locations to view theatre. (Roberts, 2018) Although NT Live has followed the progress of the times to expand on digital technology, it needs to be considered whether the digital transformation will affect the unique artistic characteristics that live theatre possesses, which in turn will affect the audience's sense of experience when watching theatre. 5 Despite the fact that screen-side digital technology has covered all aspects of life for audiences living in the age of digital natives. (Horváth, 2024) However, to a certain extent, live stage theatre still continues to enrich itself in a unique form. When theatrical performances move from the scene to the big screen, or even the TV screen at home, it looks like a challenge for audiences who are used to watching plays in the theatre. Because some audiences are more eager for a live experience, they favour feeling a sense of interaction with live actors and the ability to gain emotional support while doing so. (Zakopoulos, etal, 2023).However, Stephen Wood (2014), as manager of Stephen Joseph theatre, questioned the presentation of theatre through film broadcasting, stating that he was concerned that it would threaten the artistry of live theatre performance (Gardener, 2014). In order to be able to give the audience a more immersive feeling of watching the performance live, NT Live has adopted artistic strategies such as pre-screening interviews, and incorporating footage of the live audience into the film's playing screen. (Roberts, 2018) These strategically clever ideas are working to break the uncomfortable feeling that being separated from the screen brings to the audience. However, according to research findings, this still does not remove another layer of artistic expression logic created by the camera as a guide compared to the audience watching the play live (Brown and Ratzkin, 2011). Because theatre is an art form that is connected to physical space compared to film, it is capable of generating interpersonal emotional expression in a confined space (Reason, 2021). This shows that even though the team wanted to recreate the scene to the fullest extent possible, the camera itself is still being re-expressed and created. It is worth noting, however, that NT have also realised that it is impossible to fully bring the feeling of a live performance to the audience, and that what they are aiming for is to “bring a stylised representation of the experience to those who come to the cinema 6 or watch it online ”(Roberts, 2018 ， no pagination).Because these are undeniable attributes of the two mediums, the National Theatre's managers and artistic creators can look for special connections between theatre and film, and create new forms of art that are intermediate between theatre and film. This also indicates that in the exploration of cross-media, the effects projected on the cinema screen should not simply be a record of the theatre performance, but should be combined with the artistic techniques of cinema projection on the screen for a more innovative expression. Overall, NT Live wants to build on the digital skills it already possesses, to understand the aspects of film projection that are scarce for live performance, and to explore the possibilities of media convergence. The cross-media fusion of offline and online in a limited distribution is key to sustaining a thriving theatre artistry. (Horváth, 2024) In the future, National Theatre should continue to search for rational art forms that combine ‘online experience’ and ‘physical presence’, so that the multifaceted model of cinema and theatre can be applied and popularised in all theatres（Reason, 2021）. 5. Promoting the democratisation of culture through digital strategies: Digital transformation has helped Nationl Theatre's audience development goals. “Democracy” is one of the iconic definitions of itself in funded cultural organisations, but as audiences involved in arts and culture are different, they may have different impressions of arts organisations due to different interests or having been educated in different values. (Matarasso, 2024) On the face of it, NT's digital broadcasts as well as online screenings break down geographical restrictions. This is because not everyone who wants to see theatre will live in London and at the same time be close to the National Theatre. Perhaps where they live may not be rich in creative organisations. (Roberts, 2018). As well as NT wanting to address the situation of audience participation in theatre-going where they are unable to see a play due to physical distance, if this issue is explored in depth, it is still about being able to democratise the theatre more 7 and wanting it to be in a more diverse form for different sections of the population to see classic plays from around the world. (Natonal Theater, 2024) However, it is worth discussing whether the digital strategy implemented by NT is able to break down the gap between classes and provide fairer access to theatre for audiences of different classes and social status. Traditionally theatre has been considered an art form that represents an elite class with artistic thresholds. (Sanderson, 2024) Even with the push for digital accessibility, cultural perceptions remain a challenge.（ Brown and Novak ，2007) The confinement imposed by class is difficult to alter, so NT can only minimise the obstacles that elitism creates for the dissemination of the arts as far as possible without the need to commoditise or mass distribute the product. For example, some young people who do not have access to the resources of theatre arts in remote areas, as disadvantaged groups in the society, they do not actually have access to enough opportunities to watch theatre. They then need the benefits of cultural democratisation of access (Davies, 2024) N atonal Theatre to reach out to teenagers and make them more equipped to watch theatre online. In order to be able to cater for the student population, the online platform of NT connection was provided in 2015 and about 25% of the UK secondary schools offer free streaming to their students (National Theater , 2024). Teachers in the school have some access to give the students in the school the chance to stream classic plays online so that the students are better educated in the arts (Roberts, 2018). As the remote area youth as a certain degree of neglected group in the society, National Theatre has also considered the use of digital media platform technology to break the identity limitations, so that the youths have a more equitable right to enjoy the arts. In addition to this, teenagers as potential audiences also have a deeper impression of theatre arts in the process of being popularised, which for Natinal 8 Theatre also in a certain sense also paves the way for adding younger audiences in the future. (Gardner, 2014) However, a more democratic popularisation of just one group, the youth is not comprehensive enough. There are many more groups in society other than minors who are also restricted in their access to the theatre arts. For example, low-income people may not have the spending power to make theatre or cinema attendance a recreational activity. Statistics as far back as 2013 found that the main barrier to low-income people attending live theatre was the cost of admission (Statista, 2013). And in the 2024 statistics, the average price of a West End ticket reaches pounds, with some of the better locations even increasing by 50% to reach several hundred pounds (saville, 2024). Such income comparisons discourage people on low incomes from attending theatre arts. At the same time，NESTA (2024) also found that film screenings or watching theatre at home is more appealing to those earning less than £20,000 a year, as it is a more cost effective and accessible way of spending entertainment on the arts. (Davies, 2024) This is also more evidence in a sense that the distribution of theatre through digital media platforms may be a breakthrough in NT's mission to democratise culture. However, technological tools alone are not enough to solve all the issues of cultural democratisation, deeper social and cultural transformations still require the collaborative efforts of arts organisations governments and other stakeholders (Sanderson, 2024). 6.Conclusion： Overall, the development of digital technology has not only allowed National Theatre to start thinking about how to explore new audience segments, but also opened up new economic sources. In order to be able to cope with the two more important operational challenges of lack of funds and lack of audience, National Theatre has 9 carried out a series of digital strategies and has contributed to guiding traditional theaters in facing digital transformation. This paper first reviews the digital transformation issues facing theaters in the context of the digital age, as well as NT Live's most basic broadcast and operational model, and National Theartre's agile technological response in the age of the covid-19. NT has struggled to cope with funding shortfalls while remaining true to its artistic mission.National Theatre has created NT Live and NT at Home, partnered with theaters to receive a share of the box office and rights and launched an online channel. By creating NT Live and NT at Home, NT has partnered with theaters to receive a share of the box office and copyrights, and has launched an online subscription to watch plays. It is still worthwhile to find out whether NT's live theaters will reduce their ticket sales as a result of expanding different revenue streams. The second point, after solving the problem of funding, is to explore how NT Live can maintain a balance between artistry and the application of digital technology development in different media, so that the audience can better feel the charm of the theater performance itself. But film and live theater are two forms and styles of art, and what NT needs to do is to be able to combine the two forms of art and innovate a more classic film-based theater. The third and most fundamental issue is the effort to break down the problem of class in the theater arts. Through the two cases of low-income people and minors in remote areas, we explored whether National Theatre can help promote the democratization of culture under the influence of digital technology. Ultimately, it would be clear that National Theatre's digital transformation strategy is not about abandoning the tradition of theater arts, but rather about wanting to give centuries-old theaters the possibility of a longer-term future through technological innovation. 10 Reference: Arts Council England , 2022. 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