The Stage Columnist Lyn Gardner’s advocacy piece for Outdoor Arts

To reflect on this year’s Greenwich+Docklands Festival, The Stage columnist Lyn Gardner wrote an article on the value of taking the arts to outdoor spaces.

“Something different happens when you take theatre outside and offer it for free at the point of access. The experience is not diluted; it expands.”

In the article, she also writes about the persistent lack of arts access for state-school children as the spending power of schools and homes continue to be pushed. She comments on how these audiences become ‘hard-to-reach’ when art happens “out-of-sight in buildings they will never come to enter voluntarily” and questions the indoor venues’ approaches to inclusivity and relevance.

There is worrying evidence that this process of alienation is still entrenched, and OutdoorArtsUK wrote an article for Arts Professional as a call to action. We advocate for the wider arts sectors to work strategically with Outdoor Arts to address these issues.

Gardner’s article is a strong recognition of our sector, validating how we can change the narrative of ‘hard-to-reach’ audiences. We need more public funding and strategic alliances with other arts sectors to make use of our full potential.

We thank Greenwich+Docklands International Festival for organising this article. You can also read The Times Interview piece of its Artistic Director Bradley Hemmings here (subscription required).

Image Credit: Weight(less) by Mimbre at Greenwich and Docklands International Festival 2025. Photo by David Levene