A quick gender critical overview
the impact of covid19 On THEATRE WORKERS
Here at the Feminist Directory we think that it is important to observe the world through a gender lens. Data shows that the COVID19 pandemic has disproportionately affected many sectors which are female dominated such as Healthcare, Early Education etc.
The pandemic has also led to a rise in unpaid care work which is disproportionately falling to women. We have researched how this combination of factors is affecting women’s mental health, physical health, economic stability and professional lives.
At the Feminist Directory we think that it is important to observe the world through a gender lens. Data shows that the COVID19 pandemic has disproportionately affected many sectors which are female dominated such as Healthcare, Early Education etc.
The pandemic has also led to a rise in unpaid care work which is disproportionately falling to women. We have researched how this combination of factors is affecting women’s mental health, physical health, economic stability and professional lives.
In this video we will explore the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on the Theatre industry. Internationally, the Arts and Culture sectors have been financially hard hit by the pandemic. Social distancing has made live performance unviable and the sector is expected to take some time to recover.
We will investigate the general climate as well as the gender implications with particular focus on the UK and Australia. We acknowledge that many people’s experience will have intersectional factors.
Julian Bird, Chief Executive, UK Theatre and Society of London Theatre (SOLT)
“The UK’s theatre industry plays a key economic, social and place-making role. Theatre and the performing arts make a powerful contribution to our society and to our diverse national identity. They make areas richer culturally and financially, and they make places more attractive to live and work. UK Theatre is a global success with our productions filling cultural venues from Broadway to Beijing. However, the impact of COVID-19 on the theatre industry has been immediate and devastating; with every UK venue now closed. COVID-19 has removed the sector’s trading income entirely at a stroke and thrown its business model into crisis. In order to rescue the performing arts sector, we call on government to: sustain the workforce; catalyse the recovery; and review insurance and liability policies to ensure this valuable asset is protected and enhanced for the future.”
General Climate Pre Covid
Prior to the pandemic the theatre scene was thriving. Theatre was globally in a strong position with more funding than ever and an increase in cross-cultural work.
In the UK, the theatre sector has formed a major part of cultural identity and has been a global pull for tourists due to its historical excellence. According to a report by UKTheatre in October 2019, theatre is one of the sub sectors of the creative industries which is worth £101.5 billion, growing at nearly twice the rate of the UK economy.
Climate – Covid
In the wake of Government’s announcement of lockdown in March 2020 in both the UK and Australia (as well as other spaces globally) theatre took an overnight hit with many people losing their livelihoods without warning. Production ceased and the many thousands who work in the sector faced uncertain futures. Questions still remain whether there will be demand for theatre when things return to normal.
“Indigo’s ‘After the Interval National Audience Survey’ found that only 19% of people would feel safe returning to live events because venues had reopened and 42% are not considering booking for four months … It will be vital that audiences feel confident returning to live events, in particular the over 70s who are a vulnerable group and traditionally make up a significant portion of many audiences.” – Culture and Creative Industries report (ref year? Place?)
With the closure of performing arts venues, ticket sales and the subsequent income have ceased and many have had to refund pre-sold tickets leaving theatre industry workers in dire straights. There is a huge culture of freelancers within the theatre industry, both on stage and behind the scenes and subsequently. Spaces have lost their income not only from the performances themselves but in the bars, cafes, restaurants, educational outreach and private hire income that they would usually generate.
Since most of these revenue streams have stopped, they are now reliant on charity, ACE funds and reserves to keep organisations afloat. Many organisations have made use of the Governments’ furlough scheme but self-employed professionals have faced an immediate loss of livelihood.
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/6496/html/
Written evidence submitted by the Sheffield Performer and Audience Research Centre in ‘What has been the immediate impact of Covid – 19 on the sector?’
Around the World
The global theatre world is on hold. There has been a long wait for sector specific financial aid to be made available to the theatre sector in the UK and within Australia.
Around the world we have seen very different responses and financial aid that governments have made available to the sector. This ranges from grants to theatre venues to some aid for freelancers to enable them to stay within the industry. There is huge concern that many theatre workers are existing from hand to mouth. Without financial support such workers might be permanently erased from the industry and only those who can afford it might remain. The UK government has made a grant available but this is largely for venues as opposed to the individuals who make up the sector and who fall through the cracks of general purpose SEIS type schemes.
European response :
“Across Europe robust measures have been taken to save the creative industries. In France, creative industry freelancers have been able to apply for a ‘solidarity fund’. The French equivalent of the job retention scheme has being extended for 12 months to save the arts sector. This is in addition to €22m emergency fund and tailored support for culturally important venues. Similar approaches have been taken in Germany, Poland and Greece. Italy has made €130m available to its creative industries and on 3 April 2020 the Arts Council Ireland topped up the €200m available to the creative industries with an addition €1m fund to enable artists to make new and original work during the Covid – 19 crisis.”
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/7051/html/
Climate Covid – The Globe Case Study
The Globe Case Study Video
Volunteers :
“Our two theatres are the only theatres in London to be staffed exclusively by volunteers for front-of-house operations. Nearly 80% of our 570 volunteers are over 70, and a growing number of them have already expressed that they are not willing to volunteer this year, regardless of when we re-open.
A government-backed nationwide appeal asking for people to support the arts, not only financially, but also through volunteering their time, would be a significant help.”
The UK Government, along with their global counterparts have been working with sector leaders to put together written evidence and case study responses to understand the needs of the theatre sector. We will now highlight a couple of reports given by London’s Globe Theatre and The National Theatre. Both of these venues contribute vast amounts to the London and global cultural scenes including well attended educational and community outreach events. Other such theatres such as The Arcola Theatre and the Young Vic also do a huge amount with young people through education as well as subsidised tickets.
Written evidence submitted by Shakespeare’s Globe :
“Shakespeare’s Globe strives to make Shakespeare accessible for all. A registered charity, and operating without public subsidy since our opening in 1997, the Globe has dramatically expanded the understanding of Shakespeare through England, the rest of the UK and globally and today, more people engage with Shakespeare through the Globe than anywhere else in the world. With over 6.25 million people worldwide engaging with us digitally, and over a million annual visitors to our iconic site on the Thames, the Globe is recognised as one of the UK’s major cultural and heritage assets…Since the closure order of 20 March 2020, by which point we were already experiencing a sharp year-on-year drop of 25% income as the crisis developed and audiences elected to avoid public places, we are now having to spend down our reserves – despite radical cost-cutting, furloughing and activity cessation. This is because of the unavoidable continued expenditure associated with keeping our site safe and secure, and the provision of a digital presence for our audiences to keep them engaged ahead of re-opening.”
National Theatre Case Study
Written evidence submitted by The National Theatre :
“All production and rehearsal processes have ceased with an uncertain future for actors, technicians, freelance artists and the wider supply chain. We have taken the hard decision to implement pay cuts of 20% for all staff, and regrettably we are modelling very substantial redundancies in our workforce of over 1,200 posts. At the National Theatre almost two thirds of our staff are under 40 and, as young people are similarly in the majority across the theatre sector, we have very real concerns about a generation facing mass youth unemployment.
The theatre industry has rapidly had to adapt to a new normal where there is no certainty over the timescale for the virus and the necessary Government public health measures. The National Theatre though firmly believes that, subject to support, we can continue to perform our functions while conforming to social distancing rules. Our ability to attract philanthropic funding to multiply Government investment is also much stronger if we can deliver at least some of our cultural output. However, in order to push forward on all of these fronts we need support from Government to meet our critical financial need through to the end of March 2021.
The National Theatre believes theatres could play a key role as we look to rebuild the economy and any support in the sector by the Government will be a sound investment in an industry which has driven tourism, championed Britain globally, and provided hundreds of thousands of jobs. If performances can restart, then it is easier for theatres to seek philanthropic donations which can total as much as £550 million a year.”
Finance
The Covid19 pandemic is unprecedented for all sectors but the theatre industry has been significantly hit. Data from McKinsey & Company estimates a 49% job loss in the arts and recreation industry in Australia – the highest of 20 sectors analysed and significantly more than the next most affected sector (accommodation and food, with 34% of jobs lost).
Oxford Economics published a report into the creative industries in the wake of Covid and highlighted some of the areas of financial concern. The following is an extract from their report :
“Creative workers – one of the more vulnerable sectors of the workforce – are already seeing devastating impacts on their income, not only in turnover terms, but also in their charitable contributions and sponsorships. Leaving behind the more fragile part of the sector could cause irreparable socio-economic damage
The impact on jobs has already kicked in. As of the end of March, 13% of respondents had made some employees redundant. However, the greatest impact to date has been felt by freelance workers; more than one in three respondents reported having had all their freelance contracts terminated by Q1 2020. 46% had experienced half of their freelance contracts terminated.
Using SOLT data, we estimate that the industry’s turnover could drop to £2.0 billion over 2020 as a result of cancelled performances, and employment could be as low as 35,000 as a result of Covid-19.* This estimate only takes into account current cancellations and does not account for the reluctance of audiences to return to venues (only 20% would return on opening night according to Indigo)” https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/The%20Projected%20Economic%20Impact%20of%20Covid-19%20on%20the%20Creative%20Industries%20Report%20-%20Creative%20Industries%20Federation%202020.pdf
In the Uk, the Globe Theatre and the National Theatre reported to the government that theatres have very little access to savings and are intrinsically expensive buildings to run and maintain. Much of the funding that has been available is being poured into the buildings as opposed to the individuals that make up the workforce.
Many workers in the sector have found that they are ineligible for the UK Government SEIS scheme that is aimed at the self employed. Such individuals, particularly those that supply their own kit (as is often the case with theatre workers/ designers etc) operate as a company director to their own company. Even where turnover is extremely low they have been deemed ineligible for the scheme. Another problem lies with the SEIS scheme which is available only to those who earn more than 50% of their income as a self-employed person. This has negated many who have operated on short term contracts within the theatre industry.
“UK Theatre and SOLT have contributed resources and data (from member surveys on the impact of COVID-19 on theatre) to this new report that finds that over 400,000 creative jobs could be lost, with the UK creative industries projected to lose £1.4 billion a week in revenue in 2020.”
The Society of London Theatre estimates 70 per cent (of theatres) will run out of cash by the end of the year : https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/theatres-coronavirus-cashstrapped-culture-support-a4454791.html
Finance Table
“Enforced cancellations and indefinite closures caused immediate financial pressures for performing arts organisations. In the first 12 weeks of lockdown, more than 15,000 theatrical performances were cancelled with a loss of more than £303 million in box office revenue.100 A joint submission by the representative bodies for professional theatre across the four UK nations estimates the total loss of income will be some £630 million
17% of respondents to an Equity survey are now working outside the entertainment industry, with a further 20% actively looking for other work outside theatre.”
Impact of COVID-19 on DCMS sectors
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmcumeds/291/29106.htm#footnote-166
Australia
Governments around the world initially offered financial assistance that were not sector specific. The UK’s system left many theatre workers with no support at all. The Jobkeeper allowance that has been made available in Australia has been similarly criticised for leaving freelance arts workers without support. Jobkeeper offered businesses and employers finance to pay their workers $1500 a fortnight per employee. Theatre Network Australia estimated that within the theatre sector, less than half of the creative workforce would be able to access the JobKeeper allowance.
The Australian Major Performing Arts Group echoed the sentiments. Shadow minister for the arts, Tony Burke, weighed in on this: “Australia’s arts sector was already fragile before the coronavirus crisis due to the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government’s cuts and neglect. Now with live performance ticket sales dropping and the list of cancelled events growing rapidly, the sector could be brought to the brink over coming months.”
(The Guardian, Australia’s performing arts industry ‘could be brought to the brink’ by Meg Watson and Steph Harmon)
Australia Council for the Arts:
“While JobKeeper will have a significant benefit, in its current form it will not support a large proportion of the creative workforce. This is due to the specific nature of the cultural and creative industries which are characterised by extremely high levels of casualisation and freelancing. JobSeeker also has limitations, including that ‘a loss of income’ can be hard to demonstrate. More than half of all arts and recreation businesses have ceased trading with job losses of 55–75%.
But as the original ‘gig’ workers, the vast majority of artists (81%) work as freelancers or are self-employed, relying on contracts (43%) and royalties and advances (35%).”
Gender Implications
The financial implications of the pandemic have been felt by all, but in some cases have been felt more acutely by women. There has been a lack of clarity for those who have been on maternity leave and particularly in the theatre sector, where many women are freelancers. This has drastically affected the amount of SEIS relief they have received which is calculated by averaging profit over the past three years. If you have had a child and taken leave for that period of time, your average will be significantly lower and will further affect the amount of financial support subsidies received.
Tracy Brabin MP, the Shadow Minister for the Cultural Industries, lists the economic impact that the loss of work has had on cultural freelancers : declining income, uncertainty around maternity allowance or eligibility for mortgages, the inability to recoup money already spent on equipment, rehearsals and touring, and concerns about decreased work opportunities in the long term. (Ref?)
All of these areas that Tracy Brabin highlighted stand to disproportionately affect women, particularly those who are single parents (90% of single parent households are women). This is worrying for women in the theatre sector who, due to lack of support, may be forced to leave the industry all together and seek more reliable work. Will this mean a reduction in the amount of women that we see in the industry over the coming years?
Insolvency or decreasing work opportunities in the industry will have consequences across the cultural ecology on which the UK’s cultural reputation is based. For example Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe winning BBC show ‘Fleabag’ started life as a one-woman play which she performed in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Disability
(The UN has voiced concern that the pandemic has increased previously existing inequalities. One particular demographic that is expected to feel the effects of the pandemic more acutely are individuals with disability. In many cases in order to be paid within the theatre sector, one must attend a particular space to be able to work. As lockdown restrictions ease, theatre workers who are shielding due to disability or comorbidity may not be able to return quickly to work.
Andrew Miller, the Government’s Disability Champion for Arts and Culture, highlights that the threats presented by the pandemic “to health, livelihoods, social care and creativity are all frighteningly magnified for disabled people”, and that failing to consider disabled workers’ needs in the recovery of this sector could threaten the recent progress the UK made in becoming “a recognised global leader in disability arts.” (ref?)
There is concern not only for disabled theatre workers but also for those who attend theatre in an audience capacity.
“It seems highly likely that enhanced safety measures coupled with incentives will be needed to draw possibly reluctant disabled audiences back into the habit of live event attendance. As disabled people account for 12% of the national audience for cultural events in England, this is a significant and vital challenge for the sector to address.”
(Impact of COVID-19 on DCMS sectors)
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmcumeds/291/29106.htm#footnote-166
What Next?
The mental health and wellbeing of theatre workers is a global concern. Financial insecurity, lack of governmental financial assistance combined with no clarity on a timeline for work all have major impact on mental health. Various initiatives by industry bodies have provided support for those within the arts such as free Zoom ‘drop ins’, support blogs on mental health and live streams that are sector specific.
Many workers state that in order to access help from government and benevolent funds, the individual has to have earned a living in the industry within the previous tax years. This does not bode well for women who have been on maternity leave.
There has been a heartening outpour of many big names in theatre who have contributed to benevolent funds set up for those in need. This is a sector that has had to support itself where many in the world have been let down by their respective governments.
“Covid-19 has made it impossible to ignore what everyone already knew: British theatre is built on an underpaid workforce living hand-to-mouth. But it is a problem that the pandemic has made much more acute, points out Tarek Iskander of Battersea Arts Centre in South London. He hopes this period of upheaval might spur the industry – especially those in charge of institutions – to look at how to make sure freelancers have more agency and more security.”
Further Reading
Written evidence submitted by the Sheffield Performer and Audience Research Centre – What has been the immediate impact of Covid-19 on the sector
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/6496/html/
Written evidence submitted by Shakespeare’s Globe:
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/4270/html/
Written evidence submitted by the National Theatre:
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/7051/html/
Wellbeing and COVID-19:
https://uktheatre.org/theatre-industry/guidance-reports-and-resources/wellbeing/
UK Theatre and SOLT collaborate with the Creative Industries Federation and Oxford Economics on new impact of COVID report:
Jobkeeper and the Cultural and Creative Industries:
London theatres won’t survive the impact of coronavirus without a cash injection:
Coronavirus: Australia’s performing arts industry ‘could be brought to the brink’:
Coronavirus: Australia’s performing arts industry ‘could be brought to the brink’:
‘There will be positives’: artistic directors on theatre’s terrible year:
THE PROJECTED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE UK CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
The case for a thriving theatre industry in the UK:
file:///Users/mariaaustin/Downloads/UKTheatre%20and%20SOLT%20Manifesto%20October%202019%20(1).pdf