A LACKLUSTRE response to its 2011 season and a splurge on IT systems have combined to push Sydney's premier theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, into the red for the first time in three years.

With main stage paid attendances and subscribers falling by double digits, the company posted an operating loss of $216,360, a sharp turnaround from a profit the year before of nearly $1 million.

Sydney Theatre Company ... posted an operating loss of $216,360.

Much of the loss was thanks to heavy expenditure on behind-the-scenes operations, the general manager, Patrick McIntyre, said. These included setting up the company's first in-house IT department, new payroll and rostering systems and a major upgrade to its customer management system.

The theatre's 2011 season failed to excite audiences as much as an exceptional program in 2010 that included a hugely popular and internationally acclaimed production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. Box office takings in 2011 fell 9 per cent to $18 million, subscriptions fell 17 per cent, and paid attendances were down 23 per cent.