Lyn Gardner asks why theatre – an industry that considers itself very progressive – fails to accommodate working parents, whilst many other industries can do so without issue.
After the actor Laura Wells became pregnant, the work offers dried up. She is now trying to get back into the business, but in the meantime she hasn’t been idle. At the Young Vic on 16 October, she is due to speak at the launch conference of a new campaign organisation, Parents in the Performing Arts (Pipa).
Wells will present the results of a survey that she conducted among parents working in theatre – actors to stage managers, directors to administrators – about their experiences. It does not make for encouraging reading for anyone hoping to combine a career in theatre with parenthood. As Wells says: “From pregnancy onwards, the industry turns its back on you and you become invisible... Keep reading on The Guardian
After the actor Laura Wells became pregnant, the work offers dried up. She is now trying to get back into the business, but in the meantime she hasn’t been idle. At the Young Vic on 16 October, she is due to speak at the launch conference of a new campaign organisation, Parents in the Performing Arts (Pipa).
Wells will present the results of a survey that she conducted among parents working in theatre – actors to stage managers, directors to administrators – about their experiences. It does not make for encouraging reading for anyone hoping to combine a career in theatre with parenthood. As Wells says: “From pregnancy onwards, the industry turns its back on you and you become invisible... Keep reading on The Guardian