Theatre has never been healthier in this country since the 2001 Boyden Report which showed the producing theatres around England were dying, with two thirds operating in deficits and most, technically insolvent because their liabilities were more than their assets.

The report prompted a £25m extra investment in regional theatre by the government in 2003, and since then £100m of subsidy has gone to the sector.

But audience figures have not responded but remained more or less the same, according to the Arts Council’s new theatre assessment.

The assessment, by the consultants Jodi Myers and Anne Millman, found that English theatre has become “confident and energised”, that there were higher production values, more staff and better pay, and that “innovative” and “risk-taking” drama was being made.

But there has been no discernible uplifting the audience numbers to compliment the improvements, while touring needed to be better planned and organised, and there needs to be better development of talent and creativity, particularly among established playwrights. There also needs to be better development of leaders within the sector.

“We want our theatres to be bold and ambitious” said Barbara Matthews, executive director for theatre strategy at ACE. “This assessment has shown us that the additional confidence and resources the Theatre Review generated enabled many theatre organisations to do exactly that.

“The task facing us all is to keep making progress, in spite of the economic recession, and to ensure that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the results.”