News
Tuesday - 23 March 2010
No. 60/2010
Theatres and theatre groups: staged works, performances and attendance 2008/2009
In the theatrical season 2008/2009, the number of spectators to performances of theatres and professional and amateur theatre groups within the country totalled 356,000. This equals each individual attending the theatre once in a year. The number of spectators declined some 56,000, or 14 per cent, between theatrical seasons. A total of 242 works were staged in the last theatrical season, performed 2,240 times.
The total number of spectators to performances of theatres and theatre groups in the theatrical seasons 2000/2001–2008/2009 is shown in the graph. Included are spectators to performances in schools by theatres and theatre groups, as well as domestic and foreign co-productions and guest performances.
Professional theatres
In the last theatrical season, six professional theatres operated on 12 stages with a seating capacity of 2,853. Together the theatres staged 93 works within the country, or seven more than in the previous season. Of the productions staged most were plays, or 49. Productions by Icelandic authors were 40 and 36 by foreign authors. Staged productions by a mixed nationality of authors were 17. Performances numbered 1,158 in total. Spectators to professional theatres, including co-productions with professional theatre groups and guest performances, numbered 275,794, or 587 more than in previous theatrical season.
Professional theatre groups
There were 46 professional theatre groups operating in the country in the last theatrical season compared with 39 in the earlier season. The groups staged 82 productions within the country, thereof 17 were staged jointly with theatres. Performances numbered 726, signifying a 62 per cent decline from the previous theatrical season 2007/2008. The total number of guests was 73,470, including spectators to co-productions with theatres, or 105,000 fewer guests than in the previous theatrical season, and 139,000 fewer guests than in the theatrical season 2006/2007.
Amateur theatre groups
In the last theatrical season 42 amateur theatre groups staged 89 works within the country. Amateur groups performed 602 times to nearly 40,000 spectators. Attendance to performances of amateur theatre groups increased significantly between seasons, by 35 per cent.
Statistics Iceland collects annually information from the theatres and the theatre groups.