Hesmondhalgh: Co-productions erode UK regional theatre identity — SkimNews
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- Julie Hesmondhalgh said UK regional theatres face a "loss of regional identity" because financial survival increasingly requires co-productions that deliver "generic" work rather than stories specifically rooted in a local area.
- Hesmondhalgh cited James Graham's Punch, which opened at Nottingham Playhouse in 2024 about a real one-punch death in the city, won her an Olivier Award, and transferred to the West End, a UK tour and Broadway — noting "because it was such a local story... it sold."
- Hesmondhalgh, who previously led the campaign to save Oldham Coliseum from closure, has been appointed guest curator for its reopening programme and is fundraising specifically for work the venue cannot co-produce.
- Hesmondhalgh, 56, will receive the lifetime achievement prize at the inaugural Great British Theatres awards next month, marking the 50th anniversary of Theatres Trust, whose CEO Joshua McTaggart cited her as embodying belief in "inclusive and equitable access" to theatre.
- Hesmondhalgh expressed faith in Andy Burnham's cultural instincts, saying he grasps that "communities coming together — for a gig or a football match or a play — matters" and could deliver investment for struggling communities.
- Hesmondhalgh described the visceral audience response she witnessed at Beth Steel's Till the Stars Come Down at Nottingham Playhouse, saying place mentions prompt "a ripple of approval" — the response locally rooted work generates.
Why it matters: Hesmondhalgh's critique names a structural tension in UK regional theatre: co-productions keep venues solvent but produce the "generic" product she says audiences cannot viscerally connect with. Her Celebrity Traitors visibility and Mr Bates vs the Post Office success give the argument unusual national reach as she receives Theatres Trust lifetime achievement prize — with Oldham Coliseum's relaunch emerging as a live test of whether locally rooted work can survive financially without co-production partners.
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