We introduced Pay What You Decide to make our theatre programme even more accessible to both our current customers but also to new customers who may not have been to ARC before or attended a theatre performance.
The scheme worked to eliminate financial barriers that we were aware might have prevented people from booking to see new work by new artists and companies. Customers were still asked to book tickets in advance, but they didn’t pay anything until after they had watched the show.
Six months on and after a fantastic response we are delighted to confirm that Pay What You Decide has proved a huge success for us, with some startling results.
Audience numbers are up by 58% and many people returned to try more shows and see more artists and companies within the same season. 15.6% of our Pay What You Decide audiences were attending theatre at ARC for the first time, compared to 10.8% last year and a further 10% had never booked tickets at ARC before at all, compared to 5.9% in the previous period.
Annabel Turpin, Chief Executive of ARC commented: “I believe in ARC’s programme, and the brilliant artists and companies we work with. PWYD sent a message to customers that we were so confident of what we were offering that if they didn’t like it, they didn’t have to pay – and what better message is there for someone who feels like they are taking a risk?”
The scheme will now continue for a further six months with the hope that its success will continue to go from strength to strength.