HVG examined several factors in the survey, including number of tickets sold, revenue generated from ticket sales, state subsidies and number performances. Combined, the factors point to a "contracting market", HVG wrote.
The survey drew on information from 56 permanent theatres in Hungary, 23 of them in Budapest.
The theatres operated with a combined budget of HUF 39 billion. Most theatres saw their budgets shrink 5pc-10pc, HVG wrote.
The weekly noted that about two-thirds of Hungarian theatres' revenue came from central budget or local council subsidies. Revenue from ticket sales generated less than one-fourth of combined theatre revenue; however, ticket sales rose to HUF 7 billion in 2006 from HUF 6.6 billion in 2005. At the same time, the number of tickets sold fell 200,000 to 4.3 million.
In spite of their shrinking budgets, Hungary's theatres managed to perform more than they did in 2005, putting on a total of 15,000 performances, among them 500 new productions.
The most popular types of performances were operetta and musical. A production of the operetta Romeo and Juliet at the Budapest Operetta Theatre sold 72,000 tickets, and the Madách Szíház's production of the musical The Producers drew 60,000 theatre-goers, HVG wrote.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
