Melbourne Theatre Company today released its 2018 Annual Report revealing another artistically successful and financially solid year at Victoria’s State theatre company.
In 2018, the Company staged 564 performances of 13 productions, attracting over 250,000 paid attendances and achieving a box office record of $18.6 million.
Across the year, MTC saw a 24% growth in mainstage single tickets and a 40% growth in new subscribers, setting another record for the Company with over 22,300 subscribers – the most of any theatre company in the country for the second year running.
In 2018 MTC brought in $30.9 million in total revenue and, as revealed through an independent study conducted by Culture Counts, the Company’s 2018 mainstage season generated $113.3 million in multiplied economic benefit for the State.
MTC Executive Director and Co-CEO Virginia Lovett said, ‘2018 was a year full of joy, surprises, record breaking shows, international and national collaborations and sector reflection. MTC continued to be one of Australia’s leading cultural organisations and the much-loved State theatre company of Victoria.
‘We had a strong and successful year on our mainstage with subscriber numbers and new audiences growing once again. The incredible work of the MTC team and the artists we work with shone in every production – from the magnificent costumes in An Ideal Husband and Twelfth Night to the technicality and complexity behind the sets of Wild and Gloria.
‘And despite government subsidy shrinking in real terms, MTC continued to prove a significant contributor to the economy, as was revealed in Culture Counts’ economic impact study of our 2018 season. For every $1 of government investment in MTC activities in 2018, $11.50 was returned to the Victorian economy, and that doesn’t even begin to take into the account the cultural and artistic impact our productions have on the lives of the many thousands who come through our doors, Ms Lovett said.
MTC Chair Terry Moran AC said, ‘Keeping an organisation of MTC’s size and scale in good health while fulfilling our duty to present ambitious and artistically risky programs is a complex endeavour, so it is very pleasing to report another successful year both on the financial and artistic front.
‘And while, there is clearly much to celebrate from the past 12 months, we are never a company to rest on our laurels and continue to look for ways to counter the uncertainty of box office and stagnant government funding in order to maintain a sense of stability and the fine balance of art vs income in order to continue carrying out our important role as Victoria’s state theatre company,’ Mr Moran said.
Overall, MTC reported a small operating surplus of $20,275.
Published on 27 June 2019