Australia's theatre industry is in desperate need of tax reform to keep it alive, experts have warned the federal government, after two major touring musicals and a $20m opera cancelled shows in the space of a week, citing skyrocketing costs and soft box office sales.
Waitress and Beetlejuice cancellations
Broadway musical Waitress, starring Rob Mills and Natalie Bassingthwaighte, announced on Sunday that it would end in Melbourne on 19 July, and will not tour to Sydney in August as planned. Beetlejuice, written by Australian performer Eddie Perfect, announced on 20 June that it would cancel its Australian tour and end in Brisbane three weeks early, originally set to go to Perth for three weeks, Adelaide for two and Sydney for seven.
Both productions cited multiple factors including rising production costs, the costs of touring, cost-of-living pressures such as interest rate rises affecting sales, and lower consumer confidence changing ticket-buying behaviour. Crossroads Live Australia chief executive John Frost, who produced Waitress, said in a statement that "whilst audience enthusiasm for our work remained strong, attendance levels and box office have not been sufficient to support the cost of the production."
Beetlejuice's production company, Michael Cassel Group, said in a statement that "for a production of this scale, the current logistical realities of touring across vast distances between Australian cities have created increasing cost pressures that ultimately made continuing the run unsustainable."
Aida opera cancelled
On Friday, blockbuster Italian opera Aida announced it would no longer come to Adelaide in February 2027 despite selling 17,000 tickets, due to the huge rise in production and touring costs amid the Iran-US war. TEG Live's head of touring, Claudia Coffey, told ABC Adelaide that the company lost $2m and five years of work by cancelling Aida now, but "bringing 400 people and 28 containers became totally untenable," adding, "if we sold every single ticket to the show with the increased freight costs and travel costs, we would be at a loss."
Hundreds out of work
Graeme Kearns, chief executive officer of Foundation Theatres which runs Sydney's Capitol Theatre and Lyric Theatre, told the Guardian that the two theatres will now likely be dark for 30 of the next 40 weeks, meaning "hundreds of people will be out of work, from performers and musicians to wardrobe, wigs, makeup, stage technicians, administrators, ushers and bar staff." He added: "It will be a very difficult six months ahead of us all. We will of course try to find alternatives for the theatres, but with short lead times and tough economic conditions, that will be very difficult to achieve."
Other musicals that recently cut their tours short include Back to the Future and Dear Evan Hansen, the latter calling off the Canberra and Adelaide legs due to ticket sales.
Calls for UK-style tax offsets
Suzanne Jones, CEO of Jones Theatrical Group, is one of several industry experts calling for tax concessions similar to those available to other cultural industries. Australian films currently receive up to 40% tax offsets on production costs, while games and television receive 30%. Jones said, "Musicals cost tens of millions of dollars to get on the stage – the Wickeds and the Hamiltons didn't get written on a Saturday and put on on a Monday. Reform would help a lot."
In 2014, the UK introduced Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), allowing theatre companies to claim tax deductions of 45% for touring productions and 40% for non-touring. Analysis found that £38m of TTR in just one year resulted in at least £163m extra investment in UK theatre. Jones said, "The UK has demonstrated that theatre tax relief creates production, creates jobs, attracts investments and strengthens the entire industry. We should be having that conversation here."
Analysis by lobby group Live Performance Australia in 2024 found a similar tax offset in Australia of 25-40% would pay for itself by generating additional economic activity, create 4,650 new jobs and increase the number of new productions by up to 73%.
Industry and union responses
The Media Entertainment and Alliance (MEAA) said the cancellations were "completely devastating for everyone involved." While supporting tax reform, the MEAA also advocates for a "cultural pass" – government-funded vouchers of up to $200 for young Australians to spend on theatre tickets. MEAA chief executive Erin Madeley said, "For a family of four, it can be between $500 and $1,000. We've got to do something to stimulate audience participation and get more bums on seats."
The MEAA went to Canberra last week to consult with minister for the arts, Tony Burke, on the next national cultural policy. Burke told Guardian Australia: "Consultation and development on the next National Cultural Policy couldn't be happening at a more important time. Cost of living pressure always has a particular impact on ticket buying in the arts. The impact on live theatre needs to be fully appreciated."
