Audience Research:

Something Rotten!‘s Intended Audience:

Annually, The Broadway League produces an extensive survey and
breakdown on the Audiences attending Broadway shows in New York,
America. At a glance, this information can seem rather irrelevant for
finding the target audience located in Derry/Londonderry, Northern
Ireland.
However, Something Rotten! was created in 2014 and was designed
specifically to cater towards the fans of Broadway Musicals, and in The
Broadway League’s "Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2014-
2015”, we can see exactly who it was that the Kirkpatrick brothers and
John O’Farrell were aiming to entertain.
Demographics that are particularly translatable are that:
 68% of audiences were female.
 The average age of an audience member was 44 years old.
 Over 50% of respondents said they purchased their theatre ticket
online.
 The average reported date of ticket purchase was 36 days in
advance of the performance date.
Source: Davenport, K (2016) THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE BROADWAY
AUDIENCE 2014-2015. Davenport Theatrical Enterprises. Available from:
https://kendavenport.com/the-demographics-of-the-broadway-audience-2014-2015/
[Accessed 30th October 2021].

These particular demographics have remained relatively consistent in

the most recent Broadway League survey for 2018-2019, bar one
change.
 The average reported date of ticket purchase had increased to 47
days in advance of the performance date.
Source: Davenport, K (2020) THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE BROADWAY
AUDIENCE 2018-2019. Davenport Theatrical Enterprises. Available from:
https://kendavenport.com/the-demographics-of-the-broadway-audience-2018-2019/
[Accessed 30th October 2021].

Through this information, we know the particular demographic that

Something Rotten! was created to target, hence the audience that a
Something Rotten! show will find the most success performing in front of.
Covid Safety:
With our performance set to occur in a world beginning to open up after
nearly two years of experiencing a Pandemic, an element that is crucial
to understand is how the attitude audiences have about returning to in-
person shows.
Thrive performed audience research in June of 2021 on this very topic.

Source: Thrive (2021) What do NI audiences think about coming back to in person
cultural events and activities?. Available from: https://s3-eu-west-
1.amazonaws.com/wewillthrive/Audience-Panel-June-Results-ENG.pdf?
mtime=20210706141428&focal=none [Accessed 30th October 2021]

With this assessment, our performance date of 26 th November falls well

within when 81% of respondents be comfortable attending in-person,
and when 64% of respondents with a disability would be comfortable.
However, data from the Broadway League suggesting the average date
of ticket purchase is 47 days in advance.
Source: Davenport, K (2020) THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE BROADWAY
AUDIENCE 2018-2019. Davenport Theatrical Enterprises. Available from:
https://kendavenport.com/the-demographics-of-the-broadway-audience-2018-2019/
[Accessed 30th October 2021].

Adjusting under the assumption that the respondents will only purchase
their ticket 47 days in advance (10th October) and only once they are
comfortable attending, the percentage of comfortable respondents drops
to 61% and 57% for respondents with a disability.
Thrive also found that: “Panellists want information on health/safety
measures provided to them before they attend something cultural in
person, with over half (54%) stating that this is very or extremely
important to them”.
Source: Thrive (2021) What do NI audiences think about coming back to in person
cultural events and activities?. Available from: https://s3-eu-west-
1.amazonaws.com/wewillthrive/Audience-Panel-June-Results-ENG.pdf?
mtime=20210706141428&focal=none [Accessed 30th October 2021]

It is important then that the steps made in the interest of health and
safety and how they will be implemented is made clear to those who
purchase tickets.
Online Element:
With this performance being shown simultaneously for an ‘in-person’ and
online audience, it is important to understand Northern Ireland
audiences’ views, opinions, and relations to performances delivered
through an online medium, in order to best advertise and provide the
online element of the show.
In 2020, Thrive performed audience research to learn and better
understand Northern Ireland audiences’ engagement with online culture,
both during and in the exit of lockdown. In their reports on this research,
Thrive stated that they found:
“Once people can attend cultural experiences in person, half of
audiences would be less likely to engage with culture online but would
give it consideration if they couldn’t attend it live.”
Source: Thrive (2020) Audiences who pay for culture online in Northern Ireland.
Available from: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wewillthrive/Thrive-NI-
audiences-willing-to-pay-snapshot.pdf?mtime=20210302100100&focal=none
[Accessed 2nd November 2021]

With this I’ve ascertained that the opportunity to view our performance of
Something Rotten! through the online medium, should be targeted to the
wider Northern Ireland Audience that be unable or unwilling to make the
journey to the Playhouse in Derry/Londonderry; i.e., those living in
Belfast, Newry, Enniskillen.
However, within Derry/Londonderry a focus should be made in
advertisement to prioritise ‘in-person’ attendance to the event, as those
who live closer to the theatre are more likely to make the journey to the
theatre.
Source: Thrive (2020) Online Audiences in Northern Ireland. Available from:
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wewillthrive/Thrive-NI-online-audiences-
snapshot.pdf?mtime=20210302094133&focal=none [Accessed 2nd November 2021]

In the figure above, it shows that not only are there audiences who
willing to pay for new online events, there are also audience members
who are willing to make donations to the company providing the
entertainment whether that be at a fixed amount or a ‘pay what you can’
contribution.
With the insight that audiences are more willing to pay for new and fresh
content. Through marketing and advertisement, it should be made
poignantly clear that this is a performance of a musical that has never
been performed in Northern Ireland, or even the UK before and that it is
the first time that UK audiences will have this opportunity.