Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh says financial pressures are weakening regional identity in British theatre. She argues that co-productions between venues can sometimes create broadly transferable shows at the expense of stories rooted in a particular place.
She points to James Graham’s Punch, which began at Nottingham Playhouse and drew on a local story of restorative justice. The production later reached the West End, a UK tour and Broadway, while bringing her an Olivier award.
Her argument is that a strong local starting point can also travel successfully. The comments express an artist’s view of programming choices rather than a new funding rule, and place the commercial difficulty of selling original work beside the cultural value of recognising a community’s own experiences.
