The UK's theatre world has been deemed institutionally racist by a report which calls for radical change.

Only one in 25 theatre staff are from ethnic minorities, says the Eclipse report, with a "distinct lack" of black and Asian workers.

The report was commissioned by the Arts Council of England and the Theatrical Management Association (TMA).

It was a matter of major concern that people from minority backgrounds were rarely in positions of management, the report said.

Of the 2,009 full-time staff in regional theatres, 83 were from black or Asian backgrounds - just 4.1%, it found.

And of the 463 board members of UK theatres, just 13 were non-white.

Mindset

"What Eclipse is not saying is that any individual theatre or individual manager is racist," said Peter Hewitt, Arts Council chief executive.

"What this industry-led report does say is that there is a distinct lack of representation of black and Asian communities at board level, on the staff, in the programming and in the audiences of regional theatres."

The report was commissioned following the 1999 Macpherson report into the death of teenager Stephen Lawrence, which drew attention to institutional racism.

The theatre industry took a long look at itself and realised it was not encouraging ethnic minorities into the profession.

"The aim of the Eclipse report is to change the mindset and artistic theatre practice to reflect the diverse society of England in the 21st century," added Mr Hewitt.

Action plans

"The imperative to conquer institutional racism and to embrace and celebrate the diversity of the world's cultures has never been more acute, especially after the events of 2001."

The report recommends financial investment to change the culture of the industry.

A review of equal opportunities policies and "positive action plans" to develop opportunities for black and Asian people in the theatre should be also implemented by senior staff, it said.

The report also recommends an independent group be set up to monitor progress.

Maggie Saxon, president of the TMA and managing director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse, said the report would bring very important results.