International Theatre Day: Who, What, Why, When?

International Theatre Day is celebrated on the 27th of March every year, this year will be the 62nd year and this year just like every other year, the theme of the day is peace. The official theme title is’ Theatre and a Culture of Peace.’

World Theatre Day was instigated by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), and the name was changed to incorporate ‘International’ into the title. The emphasis on the day is to highlight the importance of theatre arts and raise awareness about the importance of entertainment and the social changes the theatre can bring to society.

The theatre and entertainment industries have much to celebrate but plenty to bemoan. Only a month ago, Windsor and Maidenhead Council scrapped the cultural budget after the recession announcement and similar moves in Suffolk, Bristol, Nottingham and Birmingham. Theatres, and the arts in general, are having to self-fund, which means diversifying and sharing spaces with bingo halls and town hall spaces.

While some may consider diversification to dilute the purity of theatre, this is an old-fashioned, somewhat snobbish view, and actually, the opposite is true. Casinos and bingo halls that are attached to cultural spaces bring in a wider audience that might otherwise assume that the theatre or museum exhibitions are not for them.

The cuts to arts and culture were dealt a massive blow by the government when the loss of local support for the arts became a symptom of numerous councils facing bankruptcy after more than a decade of central funding cuts dating back to 2014.

Spreading the International Theatre Day Message 

One of the most important factors of International Theatre Day is the message. Just like every other year, and at the invitation of ITI, a famous figure will reflect on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. While these reflections are worldwide considerations, they usually remind us about the importance of the arts in a financial, social, educational and cultural context.

Speakers on International Theatre Day 

Last year, Samiha Ayoub, from Egypt, spoke in Arabic, and in the final part of her impassioned speech, she said, ‘It is our mission, as playwrights, to be the bearers of the torch of enlightenment, since the appearance of the first actor on the stage, to be at the forefront of confronting everything that is ugly and inhuman.’

‘We confront it with a light touch. Let’s spread life for the sake of one world and one humanity.’

At the other end of the timeline, the first person to speak was Jean Cocteau from France; in French, Cocteau said, ‘Nations, thanks to World Theatre Days, will at last become aware of each other’s treasures and will work together in the high enterprise of peace.’  

A year later, Arthur Miller, who was married to Marylin Munroe and wrote plays such as All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, made the point that it is ‘only when observing despair has likewise changed it, if only by raising it to our common consciousness.’ 

International Theatre Day Brings Hope 

With funding for the arts facing such radical cuts, entertainment venues, particularly theatres rely on programe diversity to raise funding. Other sources of funding come from the Arts Council England, National Lottery money is also distributed through other bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.

While International Theatre Day is about hope, it’s worth remembering and reminding this government and consecutive governments that according to their own statistics provided by the Office for National Statistics. The arts and culture industry is worth £390m this year and contributes £10.8billion annually to the UK economy.

If that were not enough of a reminder, it’s also true that the arts contribute £2.8b a year to the UK via taxation and generate 363,700 jobs. Between 2009 and 2016, productivity in arts and culture was greater than the whole of the UK economy, with gross value added per worker at £62,000 for arts and culture, compared to £46,80 for every other industry. 

As Americans say – You do the Math, buddy! If it’s about cold, hard cash, then the arts have it!