The Stage

Sunday openings need publicity

Published Tuesday 15 August 2006 at 12:35

A number of attempts have been made by producers to open a production on Sundays, closing on Monday evenings. However, these have been isolated instances and have usually failed because theatregoers have always assumed that, while they can go to cinemas, galleries, museums, supermarkets and use public transport on Sundays, all theatres are shut. Thus, a single theatre opening on a Sunday could never afford the enormous advertising and marketing involved in getting through to theatregoers that they are open. There are the rare exceptions such as Stomp and The Lion King which have been opening on Sundays but these do not cater for the normal theatregoing public.

In New York, everyone knows that many theatres are open on a Sunday and closed on a Monday, just as others open on Mondays and close on Sundays. Thus, there is a wide market for these options and the theatregoing public know that there is always a variety of productions available seven days a week. On the other hand, all Broadway theatres have their mid-week matinees on Wednesdays whereas London theatres vary mid-week matinees from Tuesday to Friday, giving theatregoers a wide variety of options for matinees.

Apart from institutions like the National Theatre, it is really up to the producer and not the venue to decide on when to run a production’s eight performances a week. Thus, the cast can be offered at the outset a contract to include Sundays and drop Mondays or the reverse and artists can choose whether to accept such a contract or not, including the days set for matinees.

Occasionally, perhaps with a children’s show, the contract can cater for, say, five evening shows and three matinees. I do not know who it was who first coined the phrases “social hours” or “unsocial hours” but surely that has long passed into oblivion. All hours are now social hours. Who can say that artists and theatre staff working every evening work “unsocial hours” any more than staff in international banks working weekends and nights, let alone transport workers on trains, planes, buses and taxis? The time has come surely when no-one should have different pay for particular hours or days. The rate should be for an agreed number of hours per week, whenever worked.

Anthony Field

Cromwell Tower

Barbican

London

EC2