It looks like it’s finally over. After 16 months of wrangling, haranguing and probably occasional straightforward negotiation, it looks as if (fingers crossed, touch wood) we finally have a new pay deal for actors and stage management working in the West End.
The details of the deal are here and there’s more in this week’s print edition of The Stage, but the gist of it is that casts will get a much increased minimum wage in return for working on Sundays and giving up a number of extra payments which they are currently entitled to.
Who, though, is the big winner in all of this?
It’s tempting to say the casts, after all they are definitely going to see an increase in their pay packets (and certainly not a drop as there’s a clause to prevent that). When the negotiations began back in early 2007, the West End minimum was £381 and for some this figure could rise as high as £550 (£600 if they are working on a Sunday).
At the time that Equity first made their claim, which then amounted to an increase of 44%, there were many who thought that the union were being optimistic to say the least (I’m not ashamed to say that I was one of them…). They’ve reached that figure - albeit only for those working in the largest West End venues - and that is no small achievement.
But - and there’s always a but - in return for this significant improvement to their basic pay, actors are being asked to give up rather a lot in return, as they were always going to have to.
So, the producers now get a much more straightforward contract with fewer additional extras. And most importantly Sunday performances become a realistic option for all West End shows. If an actor wants to perform in a show in the West End, from now on, he/she will most likely have to be prepared to work on a Sunday.
That is a historic step.
This deal has the potential to completely change the way we go to the theatre (well… when we go to the theatre) in London. The (potential) importance of Sunday openings can really not be overstated.
Personally, I find myself going to the cinema nearly every other Sunday. In fact, I practically never go to the cinema on any other day of the week. Why? Because it’s convenient. I have time on my hands (and, at the moment, there is little theatre to provide me with a competing option).
I’m sure I’m not alone in this. Sunday could be a real boom day for West End theatre, especially if everyone gets in on the act and the public becomes aware that it is the norm - rather than the exception - for a theatre to be open across the whole weekend.
This gives producers the option of losing one of their quiet days during the week (Monday, or perhaps Wednesday for some shows), when they have a half empty house, and introducing the equivalent of a second Saturday. This should - certainly for succesful shows - easily offset the extra that they are paying performers.
So, that’s the win for producers, although it has of course come at the cost of increased pay for those on the minimum (for those above the minimum, it’ll be down to their agents to carry on the conversation…)
However, there is, of course, a third party in all of this. One which has not been involved in any of the negotiations.
The general public.
Arguably, they’ve probably gained the most from this. After all, they are getting Sunday openings and giving up nothing in return.
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