After the final performance

Both texts are newly written practice sources about invented people, places or projects.

Text One: An original report on an invented theatre's programme trial.

For one production, the theatre offered a large-print programme that could be borrowed for the evening. The ordinary programme remained on sale. Borrowed copies were collected at a separate desk, and audience members could take a smaller cast list home without returning to the queue.

The trial began with twenty loan copies. On the first night, eighteen were taken out and fifteen came back. Staff did not assume that the missing three had been stolen. The return sign was behind the departing audience, and two copies were found near the exit the next morning. For later performances, the return point was placed where people could see it as they left. A reminder was added to the cover.

The theatre recorded the condition of returned copies as well as their number. Some could be used again immediately; others needed replacing. The final report therefore distinguished a loan, a return and a copy ready for reuse.

Text Two: An original account of a different fictional performance venue.

The hall printed a shared set of background notes for a weekend of concerts. Listeners could read them in the foyer or borrow a copy during a performance. Each concert still had a free one-page sheet listing that day's musicians and pieces.

The shared notes reduced repeated printing of the same material, but required staff time. Someone had to check copies between concerts and restore them to the foyer. The organisers also found that a few people wanted to keep an annotated copy. They offered a printable version after the weekend rather than treating every reader as a temporary borrower.

A box at the exit made returning the notes straightforward. Nevertheless, the organisers measured success partly through feedback about usefulness, not only the number of sheets saved. Several listeners said they had read more background because they could explore the shared booklet before deciding what they wanted to take away.

Synthesise what you learn from both texts about providing reusable reading material at performances.