It's not just what goes into a theatre that contributes to a venue's reputation. In the last analysis it doesn't matter how good the work is, if the audience doesn't come and see it and then doesn't come back for more. At Northern Stage - which reopened last year after a long periods of refurbishment with a new flexible studio space called Stage 2--they are finding innovative ways of getting audiences in through the door.
Over the last year, Northern Stage has used the space to produce its own work including a hugely successful Christmas show Thumbelina as well as the British premiere of Matt Cameron's Ruby Moon, given a superb production by Erica Whyman with a design by Soutra Gilmour that treated the entire space as one huge installation. It is this kind of forward-thinking spatially specific work that can help buildings compete in a theatre world where the growing interest in found space and site-specific productions sometimes make the black box look dull and dowdy.But the strength of Northern Stage over the last year has not been just in its own produced work but in ambitious programming and equally ambitious methods of encouraging audiences to try something different. Over the last year Stage 2 has played host to some superb touring work including Forced Entertainment's Exquisite Pain, Quarantine's Susan and Darren, Third Angel's Presumption and The Lad Lit Project and Tim Crouch's My Arm and An Oak Tree, shows that represent some of the best work currently happening in British theatre. This is work that has no star names and which certainly doesn't conform to the conventions of the well-made.Yet at Northern Stage they have won audiences for this work and these audiences are starting to come back for more. Initially this was done by giving away the tickets for free during the opening season, and now it comes from sensible pricing and offering audiences a money back guarantee. If you don't like it, and are prepared to fill in a short form to say why, your money is returned with no further questions asked. The main remit of theatres must be to produce great theatre, but it doesn't matter how good the work is that you produce, if you can't persuade audiences to see it. Northern Stage's initiatives are a reminder that tomorrow's audiences and audiences for new and daring work do not spring fully formed, but have to be nurtured and encouraged.Lyn Gardner, The Guardian theatre critic