Julie Hesmondhalgh: UK theatres losing local identity — SkimNews
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- Julie Hesmondhalgh highlighted a loss of regional identity in UK theatres due to financial pressures forcing co-productions, which she says lead to generic, less locally resonant work.
- Julie Hesmondhalgh pointed to James Graham’s Punch — a play based on a true story from Nottingham — as proof that locally specific work can achieve critical and commercial success, including West End and Broadway runs.
- Julie Hesmondhalgh stressed that regionally specific productions, like those planned for Oldham Coliseum’s reopening, require significant fundraising because they are harder to co-produce.
- Julie Hesmondhalgh described audiences’ visceral responses to local references in plays like Beth Steel’s Till the Stars Come Down, noting ripples of approval when familiar places are mentioned on stage.
- Theatres Trust will award Julie Hesmondhalgh a lifetime achievement prize at its inaugural Great British Theatres awards, recognizing her advocacy for equitable access to theatre across the UK.
- Julie Hesmondhalgh expressed faith in Andy Burnham’s understanding of how cultural investment can serve as a tool for regeneration in struggling communities.
Why it matters: Regional theatres face a material trade-off: co-productions help survival but dilute local storytelling, which audiences clearly value. The push for region-specific work, as seen in Oldham and Nottingham, demands extra fundraising — a burden that risks excluding communities without strong advocacy or networks.
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