Britain clamps down on fringe and profit share theatre.

Fri, 3 July 2009, 09:48 am

grantwatson34 posts in thread

There's a bit of a ruckus in the UK at the moment, due to Equity campaigning to force a national minimum wage for actors onto all fringe and profit share theatre productions. They argue any companies or performance groups who can't afford the thousands of pounds per week in wages most shows would require is to (a) magically source government funding and sponsorship, or (b) become amateur companies. More info here (assuming this link works better than the last one).

Voice of Reason

Sun, 5 July 2009, 08:41 pm

Labrug

As always, a clear a logical argument, yet correct me if I am wrong; I get the feeling you are arguing FOR the clamping down as it protects professional theatre?

What-ever your leanings, it is still a interesting slant to the article - Protection, and this is where I digress from a direct response to Craig and continue with my own thoughts...

Certainly, the rights and status of the professional performer need to be assured and that is indeed the role of Unions such as MEAA and by-and-large that is exactly what they do. There have been some very key wins made by the Australian Unions of late into improved working arrangements for those shows and actors seen as professional. Viva La Union!

Yet, I think it is important that avenues into professional theatre are maintained and even protected in their own right. Currently, Fringe and Co-op theatre is not under "threat" as the UK scenes apparently are. Yet is policies were put into place that would make financially more challenging for Fringe/Co-op, would that not be to the overall detriment of the Theatre/Cultural scene in general?

Let's be honest, while the article can sound a little negative, and I believe that it could very well be, we do not know all the details, and even if we did, our estimations of what will happen maybe completely unfounded or wrong. Still, my personal thoughts are that there are three theatrical outlets; Community, Fringe and Co-op. The logical progression is from one to the next. Getting into professional theatre is not all that easy and the Fringe/Co-op is often the closest they may get.

Maybe with industry accepted definitions for each grade of theatrical level, with flexible union regulations for each section, we can help promote theatre as a whole, while still protecting the rights of those who make their living in this wonderful industry of ours...

Rant over.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins
SN Profile
"ÆƒuÄ±Ê‡sÇÉ¹ÇÊ‡uÄ± ÇÉŸÄ±×Ÿ ÆƒuÄ±ÊžÉÉ¯"

Thread (34 posts)

Threaded Flat

Britain clamps down on fringe and profit share theatre.— grantwatson3 July 2009

Interesting— Labrug3 July 2009
- Penny— Leon Ousby4 July 2009
Fringe in the UK— Walter Plinge3 July 2009
contracts— mike raine3 July 2009
- Expanding on a Contract— crgwllms5 July 2009
  - Well— Logos5 July 2009
    - Read the original article. — crgwllms5 July 2009
      - ···
        Voice of Reason— Labrug5 July 2009
      - ···
        Well— Logos5 July 2009
        ···
        Running the co-op— crgwllms5 July 2009
After ten years in the— Logos3 July 2009
Ah, the fringe.— Leon Ousby4 July 2009
Not fair!— Rebecca Jo5 July 2009
- Agree— Leon Ousby5 July 2009
IF we're not getting— Rebecca Jo5 July 2009
- Of course the problem with— grantwatson6 July 2009
  - Absolutely— Logos6 July 2009
My wife did 3 Shakespeares— Logos5 July 2009
What annoys me IS Profit— Rebecca Jo5 July 2009
No More Broken Promises — Walter Plinge5 July 2009
Rebecca (and the Michael— Na5 July 2009
Irate about rates— crgwllms8 July 2009
- Oh...— Labrug8 July 2009
Agreed— Walter Plinge9 July 2009
fringe, profit share, the grey area— Helen Brett11 July 2009
- All good points,— crgwllms12 July 2009
  - Guilt As Charged— Labrug12 July 2009
  - fringe— mike raine13 July 2009
    - Cringe— crgwllms14 July 2009
Agreement— Logos13 July 2009
Amateur and professional... a definition— Walter Plinge27 July 2009
- Yes, it is....but it's not that simple.— crgwllms28 July 2009
  - Analysis in Theatre— Labrug28 July 2009

← Back to Green Room Gossip