Ten External Developments That Shaped Regional Theatre

A wide variety of external events, both manmade and natural, have shaped the development of regional theatre over the past century, yet the ten developments listed here were selected for two specific reasons: first, these are happenings that either directly impacted professional theatre only or were events that were not of the profession’s choosing. For example, the creation and implementation of the internet as a technological and cultural change certainly impacted the business practices of theatre companies, but, as a whole, the development and widespread use of the internet beginning in the early years of the millennium did not force immediate and massive changes to the industry. However, the development of streaming services (and their growth in recent years) as a derivative of internet capabilities and their impact on regional theatres is discussed in the final chapter.