Overview

Lucy Frazer, the UK’s Culture Secretary, has revealed her ambition to move the theater industry’s balance of power from Broadway in New York to London’s West End. Frazer delivered her keynote address at the Society of London Theatre summit on Monday, stating her plans to work closely with UK theater practitioners to make the West End a magnet for the best productions, directors, and playwrights in the business.

Government’s Vision for the Creative Industry

Frazer’s plans for growing the UK’s theater sector are part of the government’s $63 billion vision for the creative industries. She aims to shift the balance of power from Broadway to the West End. In Andrew Lloyd Webber’s essay in The New York Times, marking the closing of ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ he highlighted the punishing economics that made it harder to put on shows on Broadway. Frazer added, “And that is not to say the situation is perfect in the West End. But the mix of theater you find in London looks stronger than ever at the moment.”

Tax Reliefs and Future Talent Development

Frazer highlighted the tax reliefs available for theater and plans for developing future talent by creating and supporting opportunities for young people to explore their creativity, thereby enabling them to become the West End stars of the future.

Triumphs of UK Theater

The culture secretary also highlighted the successes of the UK production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” hip-hop suffragette musical “Sylvia,” and one-woman show “Prima Facie,” which was transported from the West End to Broadway and won Jodie Comer a Tony award. Frazer said, “This is evidence – if ever there was any needed – that British theater is today in a far livelier condition than seemed possible three years ago after the first COVID lockdown began just after Easter.”