Deficit drama for Melbourne Theatre Company as it posts $3.9m loss

Melbourne Theatre Company has posted a $3.9 million net deficit for 2025, following a drop in ticket revenue and donations and a sharp rise in costs.

The company’s total revenue fell more than $2.1 million during the year to $24.45 million, while expenses rose by $2.4 million to $28 million.

Box office revenue dipped by more than $1.1 million to $13.4 million, according to the company’s 2025 annual report detailing its financial position to December 31, despite a modest increase in the number of tickets sold.

Donations and bequests were down by more than $1.1 million on the previous year, to $1.85 million, the report shows. Salaries increased by about $1.5 million to $18.8 million in the same period.

MTC chair Martin Hosking said in the report that the company experienced a deterioration of just over $4 million compared with 2024 in its 2025 net position. It posted a modest surplus of $193,790 the year before.

Hosking said a number of “unusual factors” had contributed to the result, including a higher than typical level of donations in 2024, and one-off increases in spending in 2025.

“As such, the year-on-year movement is not fully representative of the company’s underlying performance,” he said in his first chair’s report since assuming the position.

Hosking said economic pressures and rising costs had contributed to “shifting audience behaviours, including a continued softening of the subscription model and price sensitivity that delivered lower average ticket prices despite a relatively stable volume”.

The company had a total paid attendance of 189,974 in 2025, about 8000 higher than in 2024, the annual report shows.

Artistic director Anne-Louise Sarks also took up the role of chief executive in November, following the departure of co-chief executive and executive director Sally Noonan.

In her statement in the annual report, Sarks said: “[We] recognise that the challenging conditions facing theatre today are structural, not temporary.”

The biggest audiences for MTC main-stage productions were for the company’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Kimberley Akimbo: A Musical, which attracted paying audiences of 20,851 and 21,690 respectively. The MTC was contacted for comment.

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.