Theatre's gender inequality is shocking – but change is in the air

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2014/sep/22/theatre-gender-inequality-tonic-advance

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There was a week earlier this year when I went to see five productions. By the end of it, I had seen 19 men on stage and only four women. I had also seen work directed and written exclusively by men. That kind of experience is not uncommon for theatregoers, and if you are a woman it reinforces the feeling that our stages mainly reflect male experience, and that British theatre offers far fewer opportunities for women than men.

Why keep going to the theatre if you seldom see yourself reflected there? Given that women make up just over half of the population and buy more theatre tickets than men, the industry is shooting itself in the foot if it fails to commit to real change. In the end, we women will simply vote with our feet.

It is therefore in the interests of theatre to change. Tonic Theatre's Advance programme is making real progress in helping to bring that about. There has been much debate around the lack of opportunities in theatre for women, whether as actors, writers or directors. There has been some good research, too – notably by Sphinx Theatre Company – highlighting the gender imbalance and glass ceilings that afflict British theatre.

As research from Tonic demonstrates, that imbalance remains as pronounced as ever. Women account for only 37% of artistic directors of the 179 theatres and companies that get core funding from the Arts Council, dropping to 24% in those receiving more than £500,000. The research confirms anecdotal evidence suggesting that, while increasing numbers of women work in theatre, many of them work in jobs and areas that tend to be undervalued and which are less attractive to men entering the profession.

During my theatregoing career, which spans the early 1980s to the present day, there have been long periods when the only play solely written by a woman in the West End has been Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. That is the case at this very moment.

In the past, research identifying the gender imbalance has been followed by little more than hand-wringing and talk. Now, though, we are finally seeing some real action.

Participants in Tonic's six-month initiative, which covered 10 playhouses and touring companies including the Almeida, Headlong, West Yorkshire Playhouse and Sheffield Theatres, have committed to making changes in their programming and working practices. Sheffield Theatres' Daniel Evans has pledged to balance the number of male and female actors in their in-house productions within a year. Other venues are to follow suit.

Prompted by Advance, theatres and companies looking at the gender statistics in their own organisations over the past decade were apparently shocked by their lack of progress on gender equality. It would be interesting if a similar exercise were undertaken on opportunities for black and Asian theatremakers and performers over the same period. A little more self-awareness around casting and programming decisions, combined with proper evaluation of what has happened in the past and what is happening today, could be a real spur for change.

Maybe that will happen, because Tonic has proved that by really concentrating minds and providing hard research, change can happen. All we need now is for the rest of the theatre community to follow the lead set by Sheffield Theatres and other organisations committed to progress.

There is already change in the air. The incoming National Theatre director, Rufus Norris, has indicated his determination to make the NT a more porous place and has spoken of the lack of opportunities in British theatre for women and black actors. The Advance initiative, which encourages theatres to self-monitor their progress, should speed up the process nationwide.

It will be interesting to look back in a year's time and see what difference has been made. If the Advance initiative forces real change, it could transform the theatrical landscape forever. That in turn might herald greater openness and awareness about the other inequalities that, for far too long, have simply been accepted as part of theatre's status quo.