Bradford theatres bounce back to beat pre-Covid audience numbers

Audience figures were up at the Alhambra Theatre and three other Bradford Council-run venues, a report suggests

Theatre bosses in Bradford are celebrating after audience numbers beat pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

More than 380,000 tickets were sold to people visiting the city's four main venues last year, which is 40,000 more than in 2019.

A council report said the recovery was among the best in Yorkshire.

Adam Renton, general manager of Bradford Theatres, said he was delighted at the upturn ahead of City of Culture events in 2025.

Mr Renton, who runs the Alhambra Theatre and St George's Hall, said he would not be complacent despite the figures "all looking very, very good".

"We're in rehearsals at the moment and ready to open with our pantomime on Saturday, which should hopefully bring around 72,000 people in," he said.

"So that's a huge number of people coming to see live entertainment. It's wonderful."

"We have looked after our customers, very much so, all the way through Covid. We kept in touch with our customers and I think people have supported us as a consequence of that."

The Victorian St George's Hall in Bradford city centre was refurbished last year

However, a Bradford Council report warned that despite the upturn, there were concerns that months of building and roadworks in Bradford city centre's main cultural quarter could again have an impact on audiences, not just for theatres but also for the city centre economy generally.

The long-awaited opening of the new Bradford Live venue, in the revamped Odeon building, was also expected to have an impact and cause "pressure" on car parking facilities and evening public transport.

The report to Bradford Council's cross-party regeneration scrutiny panel said building work in the area surrounding city entertainment venues was "causing some challenges, particularly for disabled audiences".

It added: "Theatres are liaising closely with council and colleagues and contractors to minimise disruption and ensure correct messaging reaches customers. However, in the short-term this work could be creating a drop in audience numbers."

The former Odeon cinema is due to open as a live music and events venue next year

In response, Mr Renton said: "Obviously any disruption is really problematic, but we've worked well around it.

"We're working closely with local transport links and, of course, accessibility goes a lot further than just transport into the city."

The Bradford Council report said the return to pre-Covid levels of attendance was helped by big productions such as The Lion King, while other high profile productions were in the pipeline and lots of work was being done to encourage young people and people with disabilities to watch theatre shows in the city.

The report quoted a recent survey which analysed sales figures from six theatre groups across Yorkshire and found booking numbers in Bradford were significantly higher than those at venues in Sheffield, Leeds and Hull.