The Stage

Culture minister Follett joins calls for backstage improvements

Published Thursday 18 June 2009 at 13:50 by Lalayn Baluch

Minister for culture Barbara Follett has added momentum to Equity’s bid for “better and healthier” working conditions for West End actors, branding backstage facilities in historic theatres “shameful”.

Addressing delegates at the Theatres Trust annual conference, entitled Experiencing Theatres, Follett warned that the country’s older performance venues offered poor facilities to performers and audiences, and welcomed the benefits of “state of the art, purpose-built, head-turning buildings”.

Commenting on working conditions, she said: “Sometimes when you go backstage, the provision is truly shameful. It’s a miracle that not more actors are injured by some of the stairs they have to go down and corridors they have to negotiate.”

Last month, The Stage revealed that Equity had decided to launch a campaign to improve working conditions in Theatreland, following complaints of rats, sewage floods and insufficient facilities. The union plans to establish a working party to carry out a survey of venues in the West End and establish the extent of the problem.

The news was welcomed by Liberal Democrat shadow culture secretary Don Foster, who told The Stage: “Considering London’s first-class reputation for theatre venues, it’s a shame that some of them appear to be in such disrepair backstage, particularly when so much has been done to improve those areas used by the public.

“Our performers deserve better and it is the responsibility of the theatre owners to ensure that these conditions improve.”

Conservative shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey said that maintaining old buildings was a challenge for many organisations in the arts and heritage sector.

“I hope that London theatres find affordable and innovative ways to maintain and improve their buildings, both back and front of house,” Vaizey added.