Close to 300,000 people last year attended 429 theatre productions in 72 theatres around Malta and Gozo, the National Statistics Office said.

It said in a statement the majority of theatres (57 per cent) had a seating capacity of less than 300.

The share of theatres with a capacity ranging from 301 to 900 stood at 33 per cent, while the remaining 10 per cent could host events with an attendance of more than 900.

From all the surveyed theatres, 44 per cent were owned or run by the ecclesiastical authorities.

Another 35 per cent were owned by public entities. The remaining theatres were either managed by the private sector or by voluntary organisations.

The total number of performances held during the period stood at 843, an increase of 8.1 per cent over the previous year. On average, there were two performances per production.

Total attendance in theatres during 2012 stood at 293,772, with an average 348 attendees per performance. At 36 per cent, concerts turned out to be the most preferred among audiences.

Comedies and school performances came next, at 34 and 12 per cent
respectively. The average theatre-seat utilisation rate went down from 62 per
cent in 2011 to 58 per cent last year.