World’s oldest theatre newspaper The Stage shakes up iconic design

The world’s oldest theatre publication, The Stage, marks the completion of a raft of improvements on November 26, 2015, with a relaunch of the weekly in print.

The print redesign follows a comprehensive revamp of editorial content last year and is the final chapter in a year-long project to overhaul The Stage across all its platforms. It will see the retirement of The Stage’s iconic black and white masthead which will be replaced with the new white-on-teal version designed for the relaunch of The Stage website in February this year.

The redesign brings the print product in line with the website and features a cleaner, more modern look to reflect the updated editorial content, with a streamlined colour palette focusing on the new teal brand colour.

The Stage continues to carry incisive editorial on the theatre business and publishes more theatre reviews from across the UK than any other publication.

Alistair Smith, print editor of The Stage, said:
“Over its 135-year history, The Stage has always moved with the times, evolving its design to reflect contemporary tastes. As The Stage website becomes more and more central to an ever-growing readership, we wanted to unite the paper and website under a single design to reflect the fact that readers can access all the great news, reviews, opinion and features we offer in whatever way suits them – whether that be in print, on a mobile phone, tablet or computer.

“We launched the new design online earlier this year, where it has proved extremely popular, and we are now rolling it over into our weekly print newspaper. Readers will still be able to enjoy all the great, exclusive coverage they’re used to getting from The Stage, but presented in a cleaner, more modern and easy-to-digest way.”

About The Stage
The Stage Media Company Limited provides news and services for the UK entertainment and performing arts industry.
Established in 1880, The Stage is a must read for those with an involvement or interest in the performing arts industry in the UK and beyond, offering theatre news, reviews, advice and more. The newspaper is published every Thursday and is available to purchase for just £2.10 from newsagents around the country. It is also available for download as a digital edition. The website (www.thestage.co.uk) is read by 450,000 unique users a month. The Stage also publishes an annual list of the 100 most influential people in theatre and the performing arts, The Stage 100, and runs The Stage Awards, recognising the best organisations operating within the UK theatre industry.