Entertainment

Protests erupt in London over “Cinderella” closure – Deadline

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UPDATED WITH QUOTES 07:42 Members of Britain’s major theater unions have spent the last hour protesting the sudden closure of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella ran in London’s West End and has warned that more are coming.

The Actors Guild Equity organized the protest outside the Gillian Lynne Theater after several cast and crew found out over the weekend via Twitter that it will end its runway in just six weeks before the show is completely renewed and moved to Broadway.

Protesters waved Equity flags and showed solidarity for Cinderella actors and stage management.

No members of Cinderella the cast took part in the public protest and most were union representatives working in other London shows.

The approximately 20 Equity members were joined by Bectu representatives behind the camera, and the protesters had three demands:

  • Producers should think more about the impact of their business decisions on the real life of their workforce and how they communicate it to them: For example: Do not tell the cast and stage management that the contract will be canceled on a Sunday night before noon. a holiday.
  • Tell the Union in advance about the planned closure, and make sure that all participants are individually informed in good time before you broadcast news via social media or the press. Do not think that it fulfills your obligation to send an email to an agent or contributor after work. It is not a matter of the press, it is a question of the dignity of the workers.
  • Compensation should be provided for both current and future contributors. The full value of the current cast members contracts until it expires on July 17, and the payment of appropriate compensation to the contractors who were to begin work in early June.

Union officials also noted that they have requested meetings with the Society of London Theaters to examine how West End casts and stage management are handled by producers and theater owners.

Cinderella is a modern retelling of the fairy tale and is written by Oscar-winning Promising young woman creator Emerald Fennell. It was originally scheduled for release in June 2021, but was delayed by two months due to the pandemic.

The management of Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group wrote to the cast and crew on Sunday, expressing their “great gratitude to everyone involved” in the play, saying the company had “held [UK] the government’s feet to the flames during their change of heart during the pandemic. “

Lloyd Webber, Britain’s biggest theater name, has been a vocal critic of the government for the impact its policies have had on the creative industries, but his decision to close Cinderella attracted a host of criticism.

“We must have dignity for workers,” insisted Hannah Plant, an Equity official who participated in the protest.

She also said that Cinderella The company has to decide what other actions they want to take on the show’s producers.

‘The members of that company will have to come together to decide if they think it is appropriate to go on stage. We are not instructing them not to, but if they decide that there is an emotional strength there, then we will work on it. “

Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming added: “Equity members made this show. They poured their hearts and skills into it through the worst two years in memory. Now they are unemployed, in fact fired by press release. All unions are fighting against forms of this practice right now – and Equity will be compensated to our members for the pain and distress this has caused them. ”