Fuel crisis and global instability threaten regional tours
Signor Baffo is an unfortunate cook who juggles, rides a tricycle, and frequently trips over his own feet.
It’s also a favorite with Adelaide Fringe audiences; It’s one of many intimate productions that Melbourne’s Jared Harford is touring in Australia, in addition to his work in London’s West End – an adaptation. The Unexpected Journey of Harold Fry This year, it earned Harford an Olivier Award nomination for best new musical.
Typically, Harford’s traveling shows are bare-bones operations, requiring only a van full of costumes and props and artist Joshua Burton alongside Harford. But the ongoing fuel crisis and its knock-on effects have left manufacturers like Harford increasingly anxious and broke; This sparked industry calls for help to keep the shows on the road.
“A lot [producers] “They are considering canceling regional shows because who will help them if they are stranded in a remote town?” Harford says. “[Federal arts agency] Creative Australia encourages us to visit regions, but this is risky as there is no extra funding. If I cancel, I’ll face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. “There is no insurance for the work we do,” he said.
The shortage is industry-wide. Antonia Seymour, chief executive of Sydney-based tour services organization Arts on Tour, whose clients include major companies such as Bangarra Dance Theater and Belvoir Street Theatre, told companies last week there had been a 7 per cent increase in freight costs due to diesel prices. In regional tours, freight can consume up to half of the budget. For Arts on Tour’s longer tours, this increase could mean a cost increase of up to $20,000.
“Our challenge is to find savings elsewhere to ensure these tours still reach regional audiences,” says Seymour. “It’s this uncertainty that is causing great fear and anxiety for artists and the industry. How bad will it get? Will we cancel tours again like we did during COVID? Nobody wants that.”
Seymour notes that global instability doesn’t just increase costs; it also diminishes the audience.
“We know from the post-COVID cost of living crisis that going to the theater is a discretionary expense and may be one of the first to go, especially as the cost of a mortgage is impacted by interest rate rises,” he says. “It feels brutal to work in an environment where there is constant upward pressure on costs and downward pressure on the box office.”
Live Performance Australia (LPA) said that alongside rising fuel costs, its members had also seen a noticeable decline in ticket sales.
“Audiences are very price sensitive,” says LPA managing director Eric Lassen. “Producers have little or no scope to cover these higher costs, so they have to cover them. This is a particularly serious problem for regional venues, where audiences often have to travel further and where gas costs are a much bigger factor in the decision-making.”
Looking ahead, LPA said some manufacturers are considering postponements of future projects until there is more clarity around the global outlook.
“We hope that federal, state and territory ministers of culture will introduce some targeted aid measures to support the sector during this difficult period, especially in terms of tour costs,” Lassen said. “Additionally, the promotion of live performance production will, in the long term, help reduce some of the financial risks and overheads associated with touring Australia.”
On the round trip Signor Baffo At this year’s Adelaide Fringe festival, Harford said diesel reached $3.90 per litre. Distributors who put up posters heralding the arrival of the shows have already cited increases in gas pump prices.
Harford will get it this July Signor Baffo Melbourne to Gold Coast before playing eight regional stops on the return leg. “I’ll probably walk away losing money or breaking even,” Harford says. “My money goes to the tank. I’m actually scared of some regional routes; how do we get home if we run out of fuel?”
A spokesperson for Creative Australia said the agency was aware of the pressure rising costs were putting on artists and arts organisations, including those on tour.
“Creative Australia is monitoring how these conditions impact the delivery of the funded activity,” they said. “We will continue to speak to and engage with artists and arts organizations as the situation evolves.”
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