National Theatre

What it reported doing in 2024

Our theatres on the South Bank In 2024/25, we staged 19 plays and musicals across the globe, including 13 productions in our theatres on the South Bank, five of which were world premieres. Our three theatres remained strongly attended at 81% seated capacity and we have continued to grow new audiences, with 94% of first-time attendees rating their experience as 'excellent'very good'. River Stage drew 36,000 visitors to London's largest free outdoor arts festival with four weekends of music, theatre, dance and workshops in collaboration with The Glory, Greenwich Docklands International Festival and Rambert. Sharing work beyond the South Bank An extraordinary 770,825 people experienced a live National Theatre production in 2024/25 in the West End, across the country and internationally. Theatre Nation Partnerships (TNP) By the National Theatre working in partnership with theatres and creative organisations in 13 priority areas of England, we create more opportunities for people to engage with theatre. This year we worked with our TNP partners on touring productions, community engagement and audience development activity, in-depth school programmes, expanding access to our digital platforms, and skill and resource sharing across the network. Through the TNP network, we supported a production of "Handbagged" by Moira Buffini, produced by Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, that toured to six TNP venues where it reached 11,400 people. The show also toured to six further venues - making it the longest midscale tour delivered through TNP - reaching an additional audience of 6,000 people to date. Speak Up Speak Up is a three-year programme which launched in 2022 and will conclude in summer 2025. It was set up to support young people most affected by the pandemic and in response to challenges in schools, to help to develop young people's self-expression, wellbeing and personal skills, with an open-ended invitation to make creative projects in their local area. Through Speak Up and TNP the National Theatre has established a strong collaborative network of theatres and arts organizations across England. We are in active conversation with our partners and Arts Council England about what comes next. Generate Our Generate programme was created during the pandemic in response to a demand from national organizations coinciding with capacity in the Studio. The National Theatre currently shares the space and resources of our New Work Studio with artists developing work that is destined for stages outside of London. This support can include costs like artist fees and travel expenses, as well as offering space for workshops and writing, dramaturgical support, and introductions to potential co-producing partners. Since the outset of Generate, 1,039 actors and artists have been engaged on the programme. 93% of the projects supported either had the writer in the room or were devised as a company. This year, once again, a third of our New Work Department research and development workshops were devoted to supporting over 30 theatres and companies from outside London through our Generate programme, including Paines Plough (My Mother's Funeral), Sheffield Theatres (Dolls House), Middle Child (Biting point), Kook Ensemble (Sand), and Theatr3 (Port Talbot Gotta Banksy). Alongside these organizations, we also supported individual artists and their projects. National Theatre Live In 2024/25, National Theatre Live released seven productions to cinemas in over 50 countries, watched by an audience of over 1.8 million people across more than 250,000 screenings, with 90% watching a broadcast outside London. The 15-year-old initiative reached a significant milestone, celebrating its 100th release in April 2024 with the release of Nye, charting the life of Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan and his battle to create the NHS. National Theatre at Home A further 26 titles were added to our streaming platform in 2024/25, taking the total number of productions available to over 100. Titles add

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 82.4%; rating input score 82
• Program expense ratio: 86.7%; rating input score 87
• Fundraising efficiency: $14.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.1; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings