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ATG axes Houdini musical after producers ask cast to work for free

Published Wednesday 22 October 2008 at 11:30 by Alistair Smith

Ambassador Theatre Group has pulled a new musical from its spring programme, after a Stage investigation revealed that the show was intending not to pay its cast and crew for rehearsals or performances at the Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Houdini the Musical, which was to be produced by Shattered Nerve Studios Ltd and had been booked into the Regent Theatre for a week-long run in March 2009, was auditioning for performers on the condition that, if employed, they would not be paid for rehearsals and performances from January to March 2009 inclusive. However, if the show was successful and embarked on a national tour after its run in Stoke, they would then receive a full weekly wage.

Prior to that, cast members would have only received expenses, a one-off fee for a cast recording and pay for any outreach and education work they undertook alongside the show.

While Shattered Nerve had been clear on the auditions page of its website that these would be the terms of engagement with the company, Equity warned that the conditions would have been in breach of minimum pay legislation and subject to legal challenge, while the Theatrical Management Association - of which Shattered Nerve is not a member - also condemned the practice.

TMA chief executive Richard Pulford said: “This kind of arrangement is wholly incompatible with membership of either the Society of London Theatre or TMA. I’ve never heard of it except in the context of tiny fringe theatres and it is - to say the least - irregular.”

ATG, which had no involvement in the show other than as a host theatre, had not been made aware of the proposed conditions of employment when it accepted the booking.

On learning from The Stage of the producers’ plans to not pay the cast and crew, the Regent Theatre pulled out of its agreement with Shattered Nerve.

David Bradbury, a spokesperson for the group, told The Stage: “Following discussions with the producers of Houdini the Musical, we have taken the decision to cancel their hire agreement at the Regent Theatre as a result of concerns raised about their working practices.”

Shattered Nerve has been left unhappy at the turn of events, claiming that cast and crew have been deprived of the opportunity to secure future paid work - if the show was successful - and that a children’s charity, which would have received a percentage of ticket sales, has also lost out.

A spokesperson for the company said: “It’s a knee-jerk reaction. It has all been blown out of proportion by a lack of communication by Equity and SOLT/TMA and any other organisation that hasn’t taken the time to come and talk to us about this. We’ve had no contact from these groups, so for them to be passing comment, I think is disgusting. These people are making public comments without being fully informed.

“It has meant that 20-odd performers, 40 or 50 crew members and a charity have lost out on this production not going ahead. Lots of people would have benefitted from what we were doing. We were being honest, up-front and open. No one was going to lose out.

“The ideal thing would have been that paid work would have followed, which would have been in line with the unions. As it stands, this isn’t going to happen.

“Who does this benefit? It’s a shame. We were trying something new. The project is by no means dead, but we are withdrawing it from the market place and re-evaluating how we put it on.”

• Anyone who has paid £5 for a ‘fast track’ audition to appear in Houdini The Musical will be contacted by producers to organise a refund.

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