West End Backstage Staff on Strike???Date: 20 December 2001Strike action might be the next obstacle to a hoped-for West End recovery. London’s theatreland has been hard hit this year by a succession of events which have kept tourists at bay – a strong pound, foot-and-mouth and the knock-on effects of 11 September – but that doesn’t seem to have engendered much sympathy for theatre owners and producers amongst backstage staff. The latter have rejected the 1.6% pay rise proposed by the Society of London Theatre and have now called for their union, Bectu, to ballot members in favour of a strike. Backstage work is, on the whole, poorly paid; the average hourly West End rate is just £6.33, with many workers earning much less. Related Content |
Buy Tickets
Free Newsletter
Featured Video Featured Editor's Picks
Follow Us
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
- Theatre Tickets
- Top Shows (View all)
- 1. Les Miserables
- 2. The Book of Mormon
- 3. The Audience
- 4. Wicked
- 5. Matilda the Musical
- 6. War Horse
- 7. We Will Rock You
- 8. The Lion King
- 9. Peter and Alice
- 10. Jersey Boys
- News & Reviews
-
- News
- • Oliver Reed: Wild Thing comes to St James Studio
- • ATG acquires Broadway's largest theatre The Foxwoods, home of Spider-Man
- • On Golden Pond, Miller & Friel feature in new Salisbury season
- • Donmar stages Nick Payne premiere, Wesker's Roots & Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus
- • Matilda on Broadway wins five Drama Desk Awards
- • Polka Theatre's Jonathan Lloyd steps down to join Pegasus in Oxford
- • Galas: Katrina joins West End Eurovision, Daniel Boys in Help for Heroes concert
- • Opening: Relatively Speaking, Southwark Playhouse's Tanzi Libre & NT Shed's Bullet Catch
- • Young Vic's award-winning Doll's House transfers to West End
- View all News »
- Reviews
- Interviews
- • Podcast: Ed Seckerson meets actress & singer Lucy Schaufer
- • Pulitzer winner Ayad Akhtar: Islam is 'ripe territory' for drama
- • Brief Encounter with... Park Theatre's Jez Bond
- • Brief Encounter with... 4000 Miles star Sara Kestelman
- • Exclusive Video: Matilda's Bertie Carvel 'interviews' Tim Minchin at Drama Desk Awards
- • 20 Questions with ... Travels with my Aunt star Jonathan Hyde
- • Brief Encounter with ... Passion Play's Samantha Bond
- • Oliviers: Lee Evans - 'I really wanted to get back into theatre'
- • Brief Encounter with ... Merrily We Roll Along director Maria Friedman
- View all Interviews »
- Photos
- • 1st Night Photos: Celia Imrie & Jill Halfpenny celebrate Limbo opening
- • 1st Night Photos: Strictly stars party at Relatively Speaking first night
- • Photos: Thriller becomes Lyric's longest running show
- • Show Pics: Felicity Kendal & Kara Tointon in Relatively Speaking
- • 1st Night Photos: Maureen Lipman joins cast at These Shining Lives opening
- • Photos: Lloyd Webber unveils £4m restoration of Theatre Royal Drury Lane
- • 1st Night Photos: Billie Piper joins John Simm & Simon Russell Beale at Hothouse
- • 1st Night Photos: Bonham Carter & Harman enjoy Passion Play
- • Show Pics: Zoe Wanamaker & Owen Teale in Passion Play
- View all Photos »
- Gossip
- • West End gets Lucky with Tom Hanks?
- • RSC chef serves up grisly 'Titus Andronicus' pie?
- • This House whips across the Thames for West End transfer?
- • David Hare adapts 'Slumdog Millionaire play' for National?
- • Is Douglas Hodge modelling his Wonka on Wilder?
- • Helen Mirren drums up support for Royal outburst?
- • James Corden on board for Nick Payne's new play at Donmar?
- • Will Tony nominated Kinky Boots stride to West End?
- • Oliviers Goss: Thor star Tom Hiddleston back on stage 'by end of the year?'
- View all Gossip »
- Broadcast
- Regions
-
- Scotland
- • Hairspray (Tour - Glasgow)
- • Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling (Tour - Glasgow)
- • Thriller Live (Tour - Glasgow)
- • Birds of a Feather (Tour - Glasgow)
- • Doctor Fautus (Glasgow)
- • Goodnight Mister Tom (Tour - Glasgow)
- • Slick
- • The 39 Steps (Tour - Glasgow)
- • The Rocky Horror Show (Tour - Glasgow)
- View the Scotland site »
- • Hairspray (Tour - Glasgow)
- North East
- • Live Witness (Newcastle)
- • Albert Herring (Leeds)
- • Albert Herring (Leeds)
- • Noises Off (Tour - Sheffield)
- • Dogs Land (Leeds)
- • Bohemian Rhapsody (Tour - Darlington)
- • The Taming of the Shrew (Sheffield)
- • Opera North announce 2013-2014 season
- • Brief Encounter With ... Adrian Lukis & Victor McGuire
- View the North East site »
- • Live Witness (Newcastle)
- North West
- • Starsky's Glaser stars in Fiddler on the Roof tour, Lowry - 29 Oct
- • Brief Encounter with ... Bohemian Rhapsody's Nathan James
- • West Side Story Returns to North West
- • Prodijig presents Footstorm (Tour - Salford)
- • My First Cinderella - ENB2 (Tour - Manchester)
- • Are Musicals that Magical?
- • Five Reasons To See ... Carnaby Street
- • Mugabeland! (Salford)
- • Dukes stages outdoor Robin Hood, 5 July
- View the North West site »
- Central
- • High Society (Birmingham)
- • High Society brings glamour to Birmingham Hippodrome
- • 20 Questions with ... Midnight Tango's Flavia Cacace
- • Sutra (Birmingham)
- • Midnight Tango (Birmingham)
- • Royal Shakespeare Company's Nursery celebrates 50th anniversary
- • WIN Tickets for Little Voice in Coventry
- • Rent in Concert (Birmingham)
- • Bicycle Boy - A Preview
- View the Central site »
- • High Society (Birmingham)
- South East
- • Murder in Play (tour - Stevenage, Gordon Craig Theatre)
- • Matthew Bugg on the past, present and future of Miss Nightingale
- • If Room Enough (High Tide - The Rifle Hall, Halesworth)
- • Chewing Gum Dreams (High Tide - The Cut, Halesworth)
- • Smallholding (High Tide - The Cut, Halesworth)
- • The Kindness of Strangers (Norfolk & Norwich Festival - mobile, Norwich)
- • A Pageant (Colchester, Mercury Theatre)
- • Blackout (Norfolk & Norwich Festival - The Garage, Norwich)
- • North North North (tour - Peterborough, Key Theatre Studio)
- View the South East site »
- • Murder in Play (tour - Stevenage, Gordon Craig Theatre)
- South West
- Scotland
-
- Specialist
-
- Edinburgh Festival
- • Curtain comes down on 2012 EIF, final ticket sales up 9%
- • Awards flurry as Fringe closes, Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Herald Angles & more
- • Edinburgh Guest Blog: Once a monkey, always a monkey
- • Bereavement The Musical
- • Top ten Fringe one-liners revealed by public vote
- • Reanimator The Musical
- • Virginia Ironside: Growing Old Disgracefully
- • Beats
- • Bottleneck
- View the Edinburgh Festival site »
- Off-West End
- Opera
- Year of the Producer
- • Year of the Producer: Emma Stenning on reopening Bristol Old Vic
- • Michael Coveney: Roar of the Greasepaint, Smell of the Crowd
- • Year of the Producer: Clive Conway's Eureka Moment for An Audience With
- • Year of the Producer: The Donmar Warehouse's Kate Pakenham on … Commercial vs subsidised
- • Year of the Producer: Julius Green on … How to close a West End show
- • Year of the Producer Blog: Kate McGrath on co-running Fuel
- • Educating Rita (Tour - Oxford)
- • Year of the Producer: Barbara Broccoli's Eureka Moment for Chariots of Fire
- • Year of the Producer: Chicago's Barry Weissler On ... Celebrity casting & getting your hands dirty
- View the Year of the Producer site »
- Arts Cuts
- • Time Out acquires Whatsonstage.com, plans future brand growth
- • Kent Leaves Tricycle After 27 Years, Cites Funding
- • Photo: Stewart Leads Equity to Downing Street
- • Drastic Cuts for Yorkshire's Red Ladder
- • Sky Unveils Fund for Projects & Emerging Artists
- • Guest Blog: Philanthropy & Emerging Artists
- • Equity Actors Call for Post-Austerity Arts Summit
- • Cuts: Theatres Trust Say Buildings Hardest Hit
- • Boss Blog: Who's Squealing Like a Stuck Pig?
- View the Arts Cuts site »
- Olivier Awards
- • Oliviers: Lee Evans - 'I really wanted to get back into theatre'
- • Full list & Photos: 2013 Olivier Award winners
- • Oliviers Photos: Helen Mirren, Luke Treadaway & more winners celebrate at 2013 Olivier Awards
- • Oliviers Blog: A view from the red carpet & Piazza
- • Ten of the Best: Quotes from the Oliviers acceptance speeches
- • Oliviers: Michael Frayn - 'I don't think I'm going to write anything else'
- • Oliviers Goss: Thor star Tom Hiddleston back on stage 'by end of the year?'
- • Michael Coveney: Olivier big winners and Stratford long runners
- • Glenn Meads: Oliviers 2013 Blog - View from the armchair
- Edinburgh Festival
-
- Press Releases
- News
-
- Theatre Club
Welcome to the Whatsonstage.com Theatre Club
- Top 5 reasons to join from just £30
- 1. Priority booking for hosted Outings
- 2. Member-only Club Nights, with top-price tickets at reduced prices
- 3. Regular free tickets to shows
- 4. Discounts for several bars and restaurants around London
- 5. FREE ticket to a top West End show when you join - currently Monty Python's SPAMALOT
- View all Club benefits | About the Club | Member-only offers | Current free tickets
- Awards
- Forum
-
© Whatsonstage 1996-2013
