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Theatre is a complicated pastime, bridging the fields of arts and leisure and the drivers of aesthetics, hedonics, emotions, education and entertainment, to name but a few. Pincus (2004) claims that quantitative research has failed to provide a true synthesis of motivation; and while some insight can be gleaned from recent research into the motives of event-goers and museum and gallery visitors, as well as from impact analysis of arts and cultural events, the complex motivations of theatre audiences remain unclear.This paper therefore aims to explore the fundamental drivers behind theatre-going and to fill a gap in the literature on audience motivation. The paper achieves this through a comprehensive qualitative study of theatre-going at Melbourne Theatre Company and West Yorkshire Playhouse, which was carried out in 2010. The methods employed comprise a combination of qualitative techniques, including responsive depth interviews and participant observation.The research finds that the key motivating factor for participants was the pursuit of emotional experiences and impact. This contests previous findings in other arts and leisure sectors, which prioritised escapism, learning, enhanced socialisation and fun. The paper concludes that motivation should be regarded as a construct determined by a complex combination of drivers and recommends that theatre organisations invest time and money in customised motivational segmentation and in enhancing the audience experience.

This article presents the findings of an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project carried out from September 2013 to March 2014 by five researchers at the University of Leeds (UK), who paired off with five audience-participants and engaged in a process of 'deep hanging out' at events curated as part of Leeds' annual LoveArts festival. As part of AHRC's Cultural Value project, the overarching aim of the research was to produce a rich, polyvocal, evocative and complex account of cultural value by co-investigating arts engagement with audience-participants. Findings suggested that both the methods and purpose of knowing about cultural value impact significantly on any exploration of cultural experience. Fieldwork culminated in the apparent paradox that we know, and yet still don't seem to know, the value and impact of the arts. Protracted discussions with the participants suggested that this paradox stemmed from a misplaced focus on knowledge; that instead of striving to understand and rationalize the value of the arts, we should instead aim to feel and experience it. During a process of deep hanging out, our participants revealed the limitations of language in capturing the value of the arts, yet confirmed perceptions of the arts as a vehicle for developing self-identity and-expression and for living a better life. These findings suggest that the Cultural Value debate needs to be reframed from what is currently an interminable epistemological obsession (that seeks to prove and evidence the value of culture) into a more complex phenomenological question, which asks how people experience the arts and culture and why people want to understand its value. This in turn implies a re-conceptualization of the relationships between artists or arts organisations and their publics, based on a more relational form of engagement and on a more anthropological approach to capturing and co-creating cultural value.

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PurposeThis paper explores the impact that theatre can have on its audiences, both immediately and over time. MethodologyThe article evaluates the existing literature on impact and critically reviews a number of benefits models. Through a textual analysis of 42 semi-structured depth interviews, the paper deconstructs the concept of impact and rearticulates it in audiences' terms. FindingsImpact emerges as a personal construct articulated by audiences in terms of emotion, captivation, engagement, enrichment, escapism, wellbeing, world view and addiction. Impact is ultimately described as a relative concept, dependent on audience typology and perceived by audiences in holistic terms, incorporating both intrinsic value and instrumental benefits. While catharsis is confirmed as a key enabler of impact, flow emerges as both an enabler and a benefit in itself. LimitationsAs this is a qualitative study with a sample of 42, the results are not representative of theatre audiences in general. Future research might test the findings of this study in a larger, quantitative survey, which might also test the relationships between the emerging variables.

This article investigates the development, purpose and value of co-creation in theatre. Through a qualitative analysis of a new work festival at West Yorkshire Playhouse, it explores the levers and barriers to participatory engagement and evaluates the phenomenon of co-creation from the comparative perspective of both producers and audiences of theatre.The rising trend of co-creation reflects the evolving role of the audience in the creative process and at first sight represents a movement towards democratizing the arts. Co-creation is one of the deepest and most intensive ways audiences can engage with the arts, and this study questions to what extent it can be regarded as an authentic and successful democratization of the creative process, while exploring the contentious relationship between widening participation and artistic excellence.The study takes a qualitative approach, based on participant observation and twelve depth interviews with a sample drawn from managers, theatre-makers, marketers and audiences. Its key findings are that co-creation attracts a highly niche audience of "theatre people" who are active learners and risk takers, and that while an all-encompassing definition of co-creation remains elusive, the activity is here to stay. Co-creation is ultimately messy, raw, incomplete, contingent and context-dependent. Successful co-creation involves trust, respect, collaboration, playfulness and exchange; it takes participants on an adventurous journey and deepens their engagement with theatre.The implications of this study are as follows: Producers and artists should engage authentically with participants and explore ways to develop their co-creative skills; marketers should utilize experiential marketing techniques to emphasize the different, fun, risky and edgy aspects of cocreation; and policymakers should not rely on co-creation to widen participation and democratize the arts, but accept that it can deepen engagement for a select few.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how researchers in the field of arts marketing are gradually abandoning the traditional marketing concept in order to respond to established and emerging modes of audience engagement. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a comprehensive content analysis of the past three decades of journal articles related to arts marketing. Findings The results of the content analysis highlight that a paradigm shift in arts marketing has occurred over the past two decades, from an overriding focus on neoliberal processes of consumption towards a relational, humanistic approach, which aims to enrich audiences and interrogate the wider value and impact of their arts experiences. Research limitations/implications The logical conclusion to be derived from this paradigmatic shift is that “arts marketing” is increasingly becoming an outmoded misnomer, which suggests the need for a fundamental reassessment of the traditional arts marketing concept. Practical implications In order to develop meaningful relationships with audiences, arts and cultural organisations should prioritise the long-term relational approaches offered by audience engagement over short-term tactical activities such as segmentation and promotion. Originality/value The paper advocates a radical reconceptualization of the field that would replace the transactional 4P model with a relational 4E model, derived from an adoption of theories, processes and practices related to the elements of experience, exchange, environment and engagement.

This article provides a critical analysis of the methods employed in the Culture and Sport Evidence (CASE) programme. Based on a comprehensive review of the arts management and cultural policy literature, it contests recent claims that the cultural sector should state its value in the economic language of policy appraisal and evaluation (O'Brien, 2010) and proposes alternative methods for evaluating the drivers, impact and value of engagement in the arts, including the balanced scorecard approach.The literature identifies a number of fundamental problems in quantifying the social and personal impact of the arts, and an underlying policy issue is that the arts have become increasingly subject to the benchmarks of incompatible disciplines and practices. This paper seeks to redress the balance by questioning the argument that economic cost benefit analysis is the best way to understand cultural value and influence public policy.As the CASE programme aimed to make the business case for optimum Government investment in sport and culture, it adopted the framework set out in HM Treasury's Green Book and took a quantitative, evidence-based approach to measuring the drivers, impact and instrumental value of engagement, disregarding established qualitative studies and approaches, which have been shown to articulate cultural value through a more personal, intrinsic and holistic lens. This article makes the case for a more balanced approach to cultural evaluation and a more holistic articulation of cultural value, which would combine intrinsic and instrumental benefits and comprise both qualitative and quantitative methods.The key implication of this re-conception of value is that cultural policy should be evaluated not on return on investment but rather against a balanced range of objectives and articulated in a language that reflects artistic practice and speaks directly to existing and potential audiences.