Touring

A new five-day rehearsal week is to be trialled across the subsidised and commercial theatre sector as part of new agreements secured by performers' union Equity.

A working party has been established between Society of London Theatres (SOLT)/UK Theatre and Equity to develop plans.

The trial will begin across six organisations in the subsidised sector: Northern Stage in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Curve Theatre in Leicester, Hull Truck Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Chichester Festival Theatre and the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The initial trial will finish by Christmas 2023, with Equity hoping to roll it out more widely afterwards.

Equity Industrial Official Charlotte Bence said the trial "will incorporate lots of different types of production – including children’s shows and pantomimes – so we can unpick what that way of working will look like across different scales of shows".

The five-day week is part of a raft of new agreements on pay and conditions brokered by Equity, that also includes the sector's first code of conduct for digs.

The quality of accommodation has become a big issue for theatre workers, with Equity members regularly reporting unsafe accommodation.

Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said the negotiations had also delivered "strong percentage increases in minimum rates of pay, the payment of touring and subsistence allowance four weeks in advance, and good increases to swing and understudy payments".

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum (MMF) are asking music industry professionals to submit evidence in response to proposed increases to touring visa costs in the United States.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its intention to raise the price of touring visas for foreign artists by more than 250%.

Under the proposals, processing costs for short-term P visas would increase from $460 to $1,615 and processing for longer-term O visas would increase from $460 to $1,655.

Musicians and sector leaders have said the increases, which the DHS says is due to high demand and insufficient staff in its citizenship and immigration department, would make touring in the United States impossible for many.

In response, FAC and MMF have reignited their #LetTheMusicMove campaign and have published a survey asking artists, producers, songwriters and managers to provide feedback on how the proposals would affect UK-based musicians.

The two bodies say they will use the data to inform its collective response, adding they will then urge the UK government to lobby the DHS.

The DHS is accepting feedback from US citizens on its proposals until 6 March, before it considers any adjustments to the proposals.

Bectu has published new pay guidance for professionals working on UK touring theatre productions.

The union guidance outlines new recommended rates agreed in consultation with its theatre touring branch. It follows the launch of Bectu's Guide to good practices on touring productions, published last October.

The rates apply to professionals working in all posts and grades – excluding those recognised by Equity or the Musicians’ Union – covering roles in lighting, sound, wardrobe, wigs, props, puppetry, chaperones, automaton and stage. 

Many of the union’s members have their minimum rates determined by Bectu’s agreements with the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, but staff on touring productions have increasingly been employed on buyout contracts, which don’t offer additional payments for overtime and Sunday shifts.

In the absence of agreed minimum rates with UK Theatre or other employers, the new guidance is designed to provide confidence and clarity to Bectu members negotiating rates for touring productions.

Employers do not have to pay the recommended rates, but Bectu is encouraging members to use them as a basis for negotiation.

“It’s no secret that low pay is one of the core issues driving the chronic skills shortage in the UK theatre sector. We cannot expect people to remain for ‘the love of the job’ when there are better pay and conditions elsewhere,” said Helen Ryan, Assistant National Secretary of Bectu.

“Our members working in touring theatre are highly skilled professionals and it is right that they are compensated fairly for their time and talents.”

The new rates do not apply to work done in the Commercial West End theatre sector, where Equity is currently supporting performers and stage managers demanding a 17% pay rise.

Creative Scotland’s Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance has opened for a seventh round, inviting applications from companies, producers and venues touring from September 2023 onwards.

The £1m fund supported by the National Lottery is open for applications until the end of October this year.

Works of all sizes are eligible to apply for funding but to offset gaps in provision from previous rounds of funding, priority will be given to works that will tour to mid-scale venues with an audience capacity of 150 to 350 and/or large-scale venues with a capacity of over 350. 

“This funding will provide vital employment opportunities for artists, producers, companies, venues and all the talented people who work hard behind the scenes to make the theatre a magical experience for audiences, after what has been an incredibly challenging and disrupted period,” said Laura Mackenzie Stuart, Head of Theatre at Creative Scotland.

The fund will support artists and producers to tour “innovative, quality work” and “encourage more audiences to re-engage with their local venues”, she added. 

“Supporting work through this fund allows more artists to share their work and gives audiences greater choice."

The number of UK musicians booked to play festivals in Europe has fallen, according to analysis by Best for Britain.

The campaign group calculated the average number of British bands playing three major European festivals - Benicassim in Spain, Sziget in Hungary, and Lollapalooza in Germany – between 2017 and 2019, and compared it to the number booked to play the same festivals in 2022.

The analysis found a decrease of 45%. While noting the small sample size, Best for Britain said the statistics remain “sobering” and enough to raise “concerns on the impact that Brexit might be having on the next generation of British musicians”.

The analysis follows calls from across the music industry for the UK government to do more to support UK musicians touring the EU post-Brexit.