28th April 2026 | Soho Theatre Walthamstow
Last month the Atek directors had the pleasure of attending the Stage’s Future of Theatre Conference 2026, held at the stunning Soho Theatre Walthamstow — a venue that felt like exactly the right setting for a conversation about where theatre goes next.
As accountants who works exclusively with people in the performing arts, we don’t attend these events just to observe. we attend because understanding the pressures, ambitions and ideas that theatre-makers are wrestling with makes me better at my job. And this year’s conference gave plenty to think about.
Building New Audiences
One of the central threads running through the day was the challenge of growing and diversifying audiences. There was an honest reckoning with the fact that theatre still struggles to reach people who don’t already see it as “for them” — and that changing this requires more than marketing. It demands rethinking programming, pricing, access and the overall experience of walking through the door.
For smaller organisations in particular, this has real financial implications. Audience development costs money before it makes money, and that tension was felt throughout the room.
Immersive Theatre and the ‘Aura’ Experience
There was a fascinating discussion on the growing appetite for immersive and experiential theatre — productions that don’t just ask audiences to watch, but to feel genuinely inside the story. Several sessions touched on what you might call enhancing the “aura” of a live performance: the irreplaceable quality of being physically present that no streaming platform can replicate.
This struck me as both an artistic and a commercial argument. In a world of competing leisure choices, live theatre’s unique selling point is the live experience itself. Investing in that — through space, design, storytelling and participation — is increasingly how forward-thinking companies are differentiating themselves.
Funding, and Thinking Beyond the Grant
Unsurprisingly, funding was never far from the conversation. With Arts Council budgets under persistent pressure, there was a frank discussion about the need to develop alternative and diversified revenue streams — earned income, commercial partnerships, venue hire, education programmes and touring co-productions among them.
It’s a shift that requires theatre organisations to think more like businesses without losing what makes them vital cultural institutions. That balance is difficult, and it was refreshing to hear it discussed with such candour.
The Big Idea
The highlight of the day for me was The Big Idea — a session that gave theatre-makers a platform to pitch radical interventions for the industry. It was bold, energetic and genuinely exciting. The winning proposal focused on creating dedicated funding to help small and mid-size theatres improve their accessibility, a cause that deserves exactly the kind of attention and resource it received in that room.
It was a reminder that the people working in this industry are not just creatives — they are problem-solvers, advocates and entrepreneurs.
A Final Thought
Leaving Walthamstow, I felt the same thing I always feel after a day like this: that the performing arts sector is full of brilliant people doing important work, often with very little financial support or infrastructure behind them.
That’s why at Atek, we do what we do. Whether it’s helping a production company make the most of Theatre Tax Relief, supporting a freelance creative with their self-assessment, or helping a growing theatre business plan for the future — our job is to make finance one less thing to worry about.
If any of the conversations from the conference resonated with you — particularly around funding, financial planning or tax relief — we’d love to chat.
