Seven theatres and production companies across Suffolk, Essex and Peterborough have joined forces to tackle the challenges facing mid-scale touring theatre. The new partnership, called the East Anglian Touring Consortium, aims to strengthen collaboration, support local artists, and ensure that high-quality productions continue to reach audiences across the region.
The organisations involved are the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Mercury Theatre in Colchester, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Eastern Angles Theatre Company, Landmark Theatres, which operates the New Theatre Peterborough, and HighTide, based in Ipswich and London. Together, they will pilot a new touring model designed to make mid-scale productions more viable and sustainable.
Douglas Rintoul, Chief Executive of the New Wolsey Theatre, said there was a “real shortage of high-quality work” for mid-scale touring and that the financial and logistical pressures of producing such work were “incredibly tough.” He explained that the consortium had been formed to address these challenges collectively, with an emphasis on developing new writing and nurturing local talent.
Mr Rintoul said: “Across the country, there’s a real shortage of high-quality work for the mid-scale, especially in town-based theatres like ours. For those of us still producing at that level, the landscape has changed dramatically.”
He added that while large-scale co-productions with national partners could be “thrilling,” they often limited the kind of locally grounded stories that regional theatres want to tell. “They limit the kind of stories we can tell that are not necessarily rooted in our towns and relevant to the communities we serve,” he said.
The East Anglian Touring Consortium will tour productions between five main venues across East Anglia, employing local staff and creatives who can build sustainable careers within the region. This approach aims to reduce production costs, retain skills locally, and offer more consistent employment opportunities for theatre professionals.
The consortium’s combined effort is expected to reach an audience of more than 15,000 people through live performances, with a further 3,000 engaging digitally through online platforms. The pilot model will allow the partner venues to test new ways of co-producing and touring that balance creative ambition with financial sustainability.
The first production under the new partnership will launch in spring next year. It will be a musical set in the 1960s, focusing on young people from Clacton in Essex. The choice of story reflects the consortium’s goal of developing productions that are locally inspired and culturally relevant to audiences across the region.
The formation of the East Anglian Touring Consortium marks a significant step in responding to the challenges facing mid-scale theatre in the UK. Rising production costs, reduced touring networks, and changing audience habits have made it increasingly difficult for regional theatres to produce and share new work. By working together, the participating organisations aim to strengthen East Anglia’s cultural infrastructure and ensure that high-quality, locally meaningful theatre continues to thrive.
Through this collaborative approach, the consortium seeks to demonstrate that regional partnerships can offer a sustainable model for the future of mid-scale touring. Its focus on new writing, local employment and community relevance positions it as an example of how theatres can adapt to current challenges while continuing to produce ambitious and engaging work for audiences across the East of England.
