With The Stage generally having a couple of articles each week rightfully highlighting inequalities in The Arts, we thought we’d find out about the publication’s own staffing breakdown. We also decided to find out the same information from leading theatre companies and a couple of independent theatres. Alongside this, we were interested in hearing about the diversity make up of the Critics’ Circle.
Each organisation was contacted at varying times in the last two months, with the most recent having had at least fifteen working days to reply. They were all asked broadly the same question of could they provide us with some diversity statistics about their staff or members. Theatre companies were asked, if possible, to provide this broken down in the form of board/senior management, other full time staff and theatre based staff. The Stage was asked for information on editorial/reporting staff, reviewers and all staff.
The Stage was contacted via a direct email to the editor. The Critics’ Circle was contacted via an email to the General Secretary. All other organisations were contacted via the ‘general enquiry’ email address on their websites.
While we weren’t expecting to get information from everyone, the response (or complete lack of in most cases), was disappointing to say the least. As staff are not obliged to complete ‘monitoring’ surveys we understand that information held by their employers may not be a completely accurate reflection, but this doesn’t explain why most chose to remain completely silent.
THE STAGE
Regularly leads with articles on the lack of diversity in the industry:
NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR ENQUIRY – NO RESPONSE
THE CRITICS’ CIRCLE
This century old organisation has 490 members covering six key areas of The Arts:
WE RECEIVED A TIMELY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO OUR ENQUIRY STATING THEY COULD PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN, HOWEVER THEY WORRYING WENT ON TO ASK:
“WHAT DOES BAME STAND FOR?”
We responded to their question and have since had:
NO FURTHER RESPONSE
DELFONT MACKINTOSH THEATRES
Owned and led by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and currently operating eight London theatres:
NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR ENQUIRY – NO RESPONSE
REALLY USEFUL THEATRES
Currently owns and manages six London theatres and a seventh in association with Nederlander. A year ago owner Lord Lloyd-Webber warned of a ‘diversity crisis’ in the industry and that it was ‘hideously white’. This followed a report commissioned by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to explore the absence of BAME people in theatre. Given this, we expected a swift response from the organisation perhaps at least pointing us towards this report:
NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR ENQUIRY – NO RESPONSE
NIMAX THEATRES
Led by Nica Burns OBE, Nimax currently owns and operates six London theatres with a seventh brand new venue currently being constructed:
NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR ENQUIRY – NO RESPONSE
ATG – AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP
With almost forty venues in the UK, including around a dozen in central London, ATG was the biggest organisation contacted. Now headed by Mark Cornell, ATG employs over 3000 staff:
AFTER AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE TO OUR EMAIL STATING THEY WOULD RESPOND ‘AS SOON AS POSSIBLE’ – NO FURTHER RESPONSE RECEIVED
NEDERLANDER THEATRES
Operates two venues and a third with RUT:
NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR ENQUIRY – NO RESPONSE
THE NATIONAL THEATRE
Surely this institution would be keen to respond:
AFTER AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE TO OUR EMAIL STATING THEY WOULD RESPOND ‘WITHIN 48 HOURS’ – NO FURTHER RESPONSE RECEIVED
LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE
Perhaps this smaller venue with less staff would find it easier to respond:
NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR ENQUIRY – NO RESPONSE
THE BRIDGE THEATRE
This brand new venue with its new staff would surely reflect diversity in its recruitment and be willing to share:
WE RECEIVED A TIMELY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO OUR ENQUIRY ASKING WHAT THE INFORMATION WAS NEEDED FOR. WE RESPONDED AND SINCE THEN:
NO FURTHER RESPONSE
So out of ten organisations contacted, only two replied to our enquiry but even those did not subsequently provide any information. This asks the simple question, ‘why?’ …
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Elaine Paige (Queen Rat), Ashley Banjo and Diversity (The Sultan and his Entourage), Gary Wilmott (Sarah the Cook) and Charlie Stemp (Dick Whittington) will join the previously announced Julian Clary (Spirit of the Bells), Paul Zerdin (Idle Jack) and Nigel Havers (Captain Nigel) in the line-up for Qdos Entertainment’s London Palladium production of Dick Whittington. Final casting will be announced at a later date. Dick Whittington will run at the London Palladium for five weeks only over the festive season from Saturday 9 December 2017 to Sunday 14 January 2018, with press night on Wednesday 13 December 2017 at 7pm.
Multiple award-winning actor, recording artist, producer and broadcaster Elaine Paige will play Queen Rat. She has previously starred in more West End and Broadway musicals than anyone else of her generation – Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Billy, Evita, Cats, Chess, Anything Goes, Piaf, Sunset Boulevard, The King & I, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Drowsy Chaperone and Follies. In addition, she was part of the Sir Peter Hall Company for The Misanthrope and Where There’s A Will. Her BBC Radio 2 programme, Elaine Paige on Sunday, is broadcast weekly to over 2.5 million listeners. She continues her extensive live work with a series of UK concerts in October and November of this year. As a recording artist, she has released 22 solo albums as well as featuring on multiple cast albums. Paige was made an OBE in 1995.
Ashley Banjo is a dancer, choreographer and creative director. He is the founder and leader of dance group Diversity who won the third series of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. Aside from the group’s achievements Banjo has since been a judge on all 5 series of Sky 1’s Got To Dance, has had 4 of his own series on Sky 1 and has co-hosted BBC 1’s Can’t Touch This. He now judges on ITV’s new primetime show Dance Dance Dance.
Innovative dance group Diversity took the nation by storm when they won the third series of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. The group have since gone on to achieve worldwide success and have just completed their 7th sell out UK tour Genesis. The group also have countless television performances to their name including 2 primetime ITV shows, Diversity Live and Diversity Presents Steal The Show.
Gary Wilmot’s multiple theatre credits include Big The Musical for the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre and on UK tour, The Pajama Game at the Shaftesbury Theatre, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, Copacabana at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Carmen Jones at the Old Vic, Pirates of Penzance for Regent’s Park Theatre and Me and My Girl at the Aldephi Theatre. His many UK tour credits include End of the Rainbow, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, Chicago and From Hackney to Hollywood. Later this month Wilmot will open at the London Palladium playing Badger in The Wind in the Willows.
Award-winning Charlie Stemp is currently playing the lead role in Half a Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre, a role he first performed at Chichester Festival Theatre, which has garnered him both great critical and audience acclaim. His previous theatre credits include Wicked at the Apollo Victoria and the international tour of Mamma Mia!
Dick Whittington is produced by Nick Thomas and Michael Harrison for Qdos Entertainment, the team behind last year’s twice Olivier-nominated London Palladium production of Cinderella, which broke box office records for the highest grossing week in West End theatre history. Dick Whittington is written by Alan McHugh, directed by Michael Harrison, choreographed by Karen Bruce with musical supervision and orchestrations by Gary Hind, lighting by Ben Cracknell, set designs by Ian Westbrook, 3D Creations, costumes by Hugh Durrant, visual special effects by The Twins FX, projection design by Duncan McLean and sound design by Gareth Owen.
Nick Thomas is the founder and Chairman of Qdos Entertainment Group. The business that he started in 1982 is now one of the largest entertainment companies in Europe. Aside from the company’s credentials in pantomime, it is the UK’s second largest regional theatre and concert hall operator, and employs 1,800 full time staff.
Michael Harrison has previously produced over 100 pantomimes for Qdos Entertainment where he is also Managing Director. He has directed 12 consecutive pantomimes at Newcastle Theatre Royal and 7 productions at Birmingham Hippodrome and as a producer in the West End his credits include Gypsy, The Bodyguard and Annie as well as the forthcoming production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.
As the world’s biggest pantomime producer, over the past 35 years Qdos Entertainment has established itself as one of the largest entertainment companies in Europe. Over the past three decades the pantomime giant has staged 684 pantomimes and this season expects over two million people will see one of its shows.
The London Palladium, owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatres Group, is a venue to which all performers aspire and has hosted more annual Royal Variety Performances than any other theatre. It recently returned to its variety roots and is taking its rightful place as one of the most popular venues for leading musicians, performers, comedians and now Pantomime which returned last December after an absence of nearly 30 years.
