Union deals secure better rights for theatre pros

Theatre professionals stand to earn more, work less and keep greater control over digital broadcasts of their plays under new union deals.

A "groundbreaking" set of principles agreed between the Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) and the Royal Court, Royal Shakespeare Company, and National Theatre gives creative control and digital rights to playwrights whose works will be distributed online.

Meanwhile, two Islington theatres – The Hope Theatre and King’s Head Theatre – have signed updated house agreements with performers' union Equity to improve pay and conditions. 

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Both venues were among the first to sign an initial 2014 agreeement now adopted by 14 venues and more than 30 production companies. The latest versions are designed to improve work-life balance, instituting 35 and 36-hour maximum working weeks across six days, down from 40 hours.

Equity Industrial Official Karrim Jalali told ArtsProfessional that reduced hours had proven a good alternative for theatres unable to offer pay increases in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“If you give people space and time to have for themselves, they will often come up with ideas they otherwise wouldn’t have had that they can bring to the production," Jalali added.

“We understand a lot of these venues are low funded, low seat capacity theatre, so we can’t always expect the same levels of a more corporate or commercial venue, but there are minimums we can expect”.

WGGB said its deal protects playwrights following the rise in livestreaming during Covid. Writers won't be obliged to give digital rights to the host theatre, and if they do, the theatres must negotiate fees based on the size of the production.

Buy-outs are prohibited in most circumstances and writers will retain spin-off film and television rights.

The guild hopes the principles will inspire best practice in the industry: "[They] represent major landmark in the protection of writers’ rights in the digital age," General Secretary Ellie Peers said.

The 'Wild West'

While the growth in digital theatre opportunities is  welcome, a lack of regulation and consensus on reproduction rights has presented challenges.

"The way some writers have been paid for their work – or not paid – has been rightly dubbed ‘the Wild West,’" WGGB President David Edgar said.

Equity's 2014 agreements were borne out of similar concerns about exploitation and naivety in fringe productions, Jalali explained. The union found chronic failures to offer holiday entitlements, leading to efforts to specify minimum requirements and institute mandatory dignity at work policies so there's no confusion around workers' rights.

The benefits of the agreement are considered twofold, giving workers the legal basis of a contract of employment protecting producers from action in the employment tribunals.

Among the measures agreed with WGGB is an obligation on theatres to take "all commercially reasonable steps" to prevent piracy of digital plays and consult playwrights about how their work is broadcast.

They said they were pleased to have formalised guidelines to protect "fundamental" creative and commercial rights for these authors.

"We know that writers want and need us to be making digital work happen ambitiously and equitably, and we hope these principles inspire confidence for exciting hybrid futures," Royal Court Executive Producer Lucy Davies commented.

Further agreements

Equity is negotiating 35 hours across five-day rehearsal weeks for most of its updated agreements, which it hopes will become the default for fringe venues. 

It aims to grow the number of venues it is working with – Jalali has set a target of five more by the end of the year.

The goal will run alongside plans to revisit existing arrangements annually, after the pandemic side lined renewal targets.

King’s Head Theatre Producer Sofi Berenger encouraged other fringe theatres to join in developing fair and sustainable professional practices.

Having long championed professional pay for performers and stage staff, "we'll be focussing on supporting producers, to ensure a sustainable future for actors working in our sector at all scales", Berenger said.

Hope Theatre Artistic Director Phil Bartlett says the agreement shows the theatre’s commitment to ensuring fair pay and sustainable working conditions for all performers and stage managers: "[These] remain key tenets at the Hope."