Get the facts about Arts Council funding and tips on how to campaign for the Manifesto for Theatre in the latest newsletter available for download below.

Newsletter

Inspirational speeches by Sam West and Jean Rodgers were highlights of the recent Manifesto for Theatre conference.

Sam, an Equity Council member, spoke passionately about the need for subsidised theatre and the shortcomings of the American approach to the arts, he said: “Patronage has an inherent conservatism at its heart that sits badly with art’s main purpose”.

The speech by Jean Rogers, Equity Vice-President, dealt with the lack of roles for female performers, particularly for those past the age of forty. She said: “Our female membership says we want equality, with the portrayal of females to be as varied and insightful as it is for males.”

The conference and the Manifesto for Theatre consultations have culminated in the Respect for the Arts manifesto which proposes radical change in many areas – greater artistic leadership in decision-making on the arts, a genuine focus on local production that represents the whole community, less bureaucracy and more investment in production, secure funding and fair pay for performers.

To learn more about the Respect for the Arts manifesto and read the keynote conference speeches in full, follow the links below.

Respect for the Arts manifesto
Sam West
Jean Rogers

The Manifesto for Theatre conference will take place on Monday 22, March at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. Places are filling up fast but there are still a few available.

You can download all the conference documents by clicking on the links below:

Manifesto for Theatre Agenda
A full list of all the speakers and debates taking place on the day.

Towards a Manifesto for Theatre: Discussion Document
A short history of how the manifesto for theatre was born and where it might go.

Conference directions
How to find the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.

If you wish to attend the conference, you should write to Hannah Packham at Equity, Guild House, Upper St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2H 9EG, or telephone 020 7670 0238 or email hpackham@equity.org.uk

Equity enjoyed success this Spring by securing £400 in Commercial and Independent Theatre where Equity’s £400 claims will be met, in staged approaches by 2011.

Equity Assistant General Secretary Stephen Spence commented: “In the face of a deep recession it has not been easy to persuade theatre managers to push up minimum rates, but we have done it. While I am pleased to have reached the £400 mark, we all know that performers are worth more. The campaign against low wages in theatre and for decent earnings for professional performers continues.”

Reaching £400 in both Commercial and Independent theatre is a significant success. It shows the strength of members working together, particularly in the Manifesto for Theatre campaign.

However, it does highlight the position in Subsidised Repertory Theatre where the TMA managers refused to reach Equity’s 2009 claim for £400. Equity Council have recently approved the 2010 claim for a significant increase in minimum salaries and allowances for actors and stage management in Subsidised Repertory Theatre. Through the Manifesto for Theatre Campaign members are demanding an end to low pay in subsidised theatre.

Alongside our industrial campaign, Equity is now gearing up for the General Election with the final of a nation-wide series of meetings under the banner of the Manifesto for Theatre. Out of the meetings around the country have crystallised six key demands:

• An end to low wages;
• Arts councils to set targets for levels of in-house production;
• Artistic personnel to be at the heart of theatre decision-making;
• A cut in theatre bureaucracy;
• Government funding to increase year-on-year at least by inflation;
• Renewed local focus.

The Manifesto for Theatre Conference aims to bring together the discussions that took place at meetings across the country over the last few months. The conference aims to construct a campaigning policy that will be the foundation of negotiations with employers and political parties during this election year.

MANIFESTO FOR THEATRE CONFERENCE

22 MARCH 2010

10.00-16.30

LYRIC THEATRE, HAMMERSMITH

If you would like to attend the Manifesto for Theatre conference please send us your details. The final date for receipt of expressions of interest is February 28, 2010.

Please note that places at the conference are limited to 250. Places will be allocated to ensure a representative spread of members.

Stephen Spence

ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY

Live Performance

For more information on the conference and campaign please contact: Hannah Packham on hpackham@equity.org.uk or telephone 0207 670 0238.

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY
ON THE FUTURE OF SUBSIDISED
THEATRE IN THE UK.

The Manifesto for Theatre Conference aims to bring together the discussions that took place at meetings across the country over the last few months. The conference aims to construct a campaigning policy that will be the foundation of negotiations with employers and politicial parties during this election year.

READ THE REST…

The Equity Council has signed off on two new pay deals in theatre which brings minimum weekly rates to £400.

For theatre companies covered by Equity’s agreement with the Independent Theatre Council the weekly minimum will go up from the current level of £375 to £385 from April 2010 and will reach £400 in April 2011. Travel and subsistence allowances increase by 1 per cent from next April. READ THE REST…

Throughout the autumn and winter Equity has held members’ meetings across the country to gauge your views on what we should include in our Manifesto for Theatre.

Recent negotiations have demonstrated a significant gap between the expectations of employers (TMA/ITC) and Equity members on the role and future of subsidised theatre in Britain. We have posed a number of key questions that we believe need answers. These include: What members think of pay in theatre? Why subsidised theatre is important? And, what it should be delivering in a modern society? READ THE REST…

Equity research tracking the employment of actors in subsidised repertory theatre in-house productions between 2002 and 2008 reveals that while funding from Arts Councils in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has grown significantly employment for actors on the Equity/TMA sub rep contract has plummeted to lower than where it was at the start of the decade. READ THE REST…

Manifesto for Theatre Working Group members John Gillett & Fran Rifkin has collated a number of ideas from Equity members’ discussions that might make up part of the ‘Manifesto for Theatre’. At meetings up and down the country members are currently discussing points such as these in the lead up to the March 2010 Equity Conference. Click the link to read John’s paper… READ THE REST…

An important part of Equity’s ‘Manifesto for Theatre’ process has been the campaign over the last few years to seek to improve the minimum rates of pay in collective agreements with the management bodies Society of London Theatres (SOLT)/Theatrical Management Association (TMA)/Independent Theatre Council (ITC). READ THE REST…