
Welcome to our roundup of the key stories from performers’ unions and campaign bodies. Several times a year we’ll be checking in with Equity, BECTU and others to bring you everything you should know to be a part of the conversation.
Getting back to work safely
As screen and audio production returns, unions are calling for performers and creatives to adhere to guidelines to protect workers across the industry. If you’re going back to set or creating your own work, check your production adheres both to the official government guidance and the best practices agreed on in the industry return-to-work guidance and Bectu’s Film & TV Recovery Plan.
Equity has reminded members that producers are “expected to show that they have done all they can reasonably do in order to reduce the risk of the virus,” while cautioning that no production can completely eliminate the risk of COVID-19. There is also worry that smaller workplaces and productions may not be adhering to the industry protocols. The union warns:
“Ultimately, only you can decide whether you will return to the workplace taking into consideration the health and safety measures put in place by the production and the risks to your own health that returning to work entails. Be sure to review the guidance and risk assessments that should be made available to you before the start of any engagement. If you think that a workplace has not taken appropriate steps to ensure your safety, please contact Equity.”
There are lots of sites offering training and certification for those returning to workplaces, with some productions asking performers to complete a bespoke module ahead of shoots. Meanwhile, ScreenSkills are offering a free training course and certificate recognised by the screen industry and covering all the essentials. For performers engaged in outdoor performances, see here for guidelines. For anything audio, check out AudioUK’s production guidelines here.
Intimacy guidelines made public
Campaign and training body Intimacy for Stage and Screen (ISS) have released guidelines for productions featuring scenes of intimacy to the public for the first time. Dedicated to raising awareness and bettering practices for intimacy across the industry, the group have released their advice for creative practitioners engaging intimacy directors and coordinators. ISS has also created a document for performers, covering everything from being part of the creative conversation ahead of rehearsals or shooting to knowing your contract terms and wellbeing.
Supported by Equity, the union’s Jennifer Greenwood said the guidelines “help fill an important gap in providing guidance on how intimacy direction should be used in productions on stage or screen” and push forward Equity’s own Safe Space campaign. Read more here.
Actor campaigns to end racist reviews
Actor Emmanuel Kojo has launched a campaign with Equity to take on racism in reviews. In recent years, campaigners and producers have pointed towards reviews which focus on the ethnicity of performers as examples of bias in the industry. Notably, the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts was accused of racism when he bemoaned the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)’s “clunking approach to politically correct casting” in a review of The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, starring Leo Wringer. The RSC called Letts’ review “ugly and prejudiced commentary.”
Kojo, himself the subject of racist review, said he was yet to see a review that mentions the colour of a white actor’s skin: “If an actor of colour plays a role that’s traditionally played by a white actor, the colour of their skin most of the time becomes the centre of the review, rather than their portrayal of a character. That is exhausting. We have to remember we create make-believe, we create art, and that art should reflect the world we’re living in.”
Equity president Maureen Beattie argued that reviewing drama in any medium “requires a leap of faith” but that a focus on the ethnicity of performers showed something “much more serious than a lack of imagination.” She added: “In my view this is racism – pure and simple. Sometimes unconscious, but sometimes not.” The union is now pushing for a code of ethical standards for reviewers and seeking performers with personal experiences to support their work. Read more here.
Unions call for urgent support for arts industry
Bectu and Equity are calling for the government to urgently support the performing arts industry, as the pandemic creates job losses and uncertainty for the creative workforce. Despite the government releasing a £1.57 billion rescue package for the arts and heritage sector in July, Bectu revealed that 5,000 theatre staff were made redundant in the month to 3 August. Over half of these job losses were in the West End, where Hamilton and Les Mis producer Cameron Mackintosh made a further 200 staff redundant this week. Despite indoor performances with social distancing being allowed in England from 15 August, many theatres have chosen to close until 2021 at the earliest.
Both Bectu and Equity have written to culture secretary Oliver Dowden raising concerns about the rescue package, arguing it is not halting staff layoffs and that the stage industry has been forced to “mothball” venues rather than protect jobs or reopen with social distancing in place. Equity have claimed that less than 0.2% of the arts rescue fund will directly support workers and called for protection for all creatives in the months ahead, revealing that 40% of members are “already in extreme hardship” due to being excluded from both the self-employed grants and job retention scheme. Find out about support for performers here.
In brief
BAME screen grant launched
The Film and TV Charity has launched grants to celebrate and support diverse voices in the screen industry. The new Community Grants scheme will promote peer-to-peer support and build community networks for Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues. Grants of up to £3,500 are available for projects, with applications closing on 28 August. Read more here.
One Voice Campaign
A campaign to support freelancers through the pandemic has been launched, urging the culture industries to recognise the role of freelance workers across the sector. The One Voice Campaign hopes to protect “talent as well as infrastructure” and is pushing for applications to the government’s rescue package to acknowledge and protect freelancer workers within institutions. Read more here.
Equity reviewing contact with D/deaf members
After releasing a good practice guide for working with British Sign Language (BSL) in the arts in July, Equity is now seeking input from D/deaf members about improving contact with the union. The Deaf and Disabled Members Committee are investigating how Equity can better communicate with D/deaf performers and are welcoming submissions for their review. Read more here.
More industry advice for UK actors? Click here.