The research was concerned with the relationships that exist between those who distribute and those who receive grants in theatre markets. The aim was to consider questions such as: (i) What is the distribution of grants across repertory theatres from each of the various sources (Arts Council, local authority, other)? (ii) What effect does one donor's policy have upon other donors' decisions? (iii) In what way do recipients respond to variations in grant allocation? In the absence of any suitable published statistics, the data set was specially compiled to provide an empirical perspective on these questions. Variables The survey derives from a 'total' (or census) sample of English provincial repertory theatres for the financial years 1977-78 to 1980-81. From theatres' audited Income and Expenditure Accounts and weekly summary production returns (both sources held by the Arts Council), an extensive set of variables was derived for both theatre activities (production, performances, attendance, etc.) and finances (grants, box-office revenue, other trading revenue, production and other costs, etc.).