Theater begins with a woman: VTsIOM spoke about the characteristics of theatergoers

A quarter of Russians visit the theater several times a year

A VTsIOM survey showed that women are closer to theatrical art than men. However, it has always been this way: even today, if you look around the hall with an attentive gaze, you will instantly understand that you are as if in a blooming greenhouse. However, what is truly striking about the study is the absence of the most popular theater in the list of most visited.

In the age of artificial intelligence, it seems that the attraction to culture will sink into oblivion, but a survey by VTsIOM dispelled these fears. It has been established that over the past 16 years, audience interest in theater has increased by 12 percent. Of the avid theatergoers, two thirds are representatives of the fairer sex. Age limit – from 18 to 24 years (39%). Educational – higher or incomplete higher education (35%). The list also included active Internet users, metropolitan residents and audiences with “good financial standing.” Based on Rosstat data, it is clear that the last category includes citizens with average earnings and above. Thus, according to the latest data for November 2023 for Russia, the average monthly nominal accrued wages of employees amounted to 73,383 rubles.

The well-deserved “gold” in the fight for audience sympathy, oddly enough, goes to regional theaters (36%), with the Bolshoi Theater in second place (12%), and the Mariinsky Theater in third (10%). The list of the most visited also included the Moscow Art Theater, Sovremennik, Lenkom and the Maly Theater. And my favorite productions turned out to be “The Nutcracker”, “The Master and Margarita” and “Swan Lake”. However, I was surprised that the list did not include one of the popular and touring theaters in Russia – them. Evgenia Vakhtangova.

Interestingly, according to the results of the study, dislike for cultural recreation turned out to be tied to age. Almost half of those who don’t go to the theater are over sixty, who, by a strange coincidence, are also increasingly television viewers who prefer the silver screen to theatrical performances. As the respondents admitted, the main reasons for a passive lifestyle were: distance from centers of culture (these are residents of villages and villages), lack of free time and a banal lack of interest.