UKTW is 30 Years Old!

UK Theatre Web has been providing uk-wide performing arts listings services since 14th February 1995 – three and a half years before Google appeared! We are the largest, and oldest, nationwide theatre listings in the UK and probably the world and maintain an archive going back to the mid-1990’s.

In addition to providing listings of current and future shows across the UK, around 15,000 at any one time, we maintain our valuable archive of performance information dating back into the mid-1990s. In addition to the basic details of an event we seek to provide creative and cast information for shows, with close to a quarter of a million people/companies mentioned.

The archive currently contains over 139,000 works in over 226,0000 production giving a total of over 1.17 million listings. It forms an unique, valuable, searchable, on-line resource freely available to all. The archive continues to grow on a daily basis as we add to the current and future listings.

Over the past 30 years we have listed shows without charging venues or production companies, having been supported largely through content supply contracts. At various times we have supplied Whatsonstage, the BBC, the eTelegraph, the New York Times (Digital) and various smaller organisations. Links to over a dozen ticket suppliers attached to the listings, around 15,000 links for nearly 10,000 shows at any one time, provide an easy way for users to find available tickets and many provide a small affiliate commission.

Director Robert Iles says “Developing UKTW over the years, and working with clients in the professional performing arts arena, has been our passion since we first experimented on-line in 1994.Those early trials resulted in the UK Theatre Web service we launched the following year and have successfully maintained and grown since. ”

Over the period, we have also undertaken many website and theatre database consultancy projects from box offices to bulk mailers, to archival/live user and sales data consolidation, to websites for venues, organisations and single shows. A number of organisations, across the performing arts arena, have benefitted from our specialist expertise as we developed their prototype and first-generation on-line systems including Encore Tickets, The National Theatre and many others. We continue to provide these development and consultation skills to a number of important partners.

All of the above has been completed by our small team (Directors Robert and Frances Iles) who enter and check all the details and undertake the technical development, consultancy and on-going support. This enables us to maintain a high level of consistency and considerable technical flexibility whilst remaining cost effective. In addition, we have been involved with the SIT-UP Awards for social impact theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe each year since its inception.