Massive theatre industry support for Bectu Diversity Action Plan

Bectu Theatre Diversity Action Plan Launch at ENO

Leading theatres across England, Scotland and Wales have signed up to a ground-breaking new plan to address the lack of diversity in their workforce.

Developed by BECTU, the media and entertainment trade union, the new action plan has brought together more than 131 theatres and theatrical producers to increase diversity across the theatre workforce, from front-of-house teams to backstage staff.

Bectu’s approach follows Arts Council England publishing theatres’ equality data which revealed people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are under-represented, with figures as low as 5 per cent in some theatres in London for example, where 41 per cent of the population is minority ethnic.

The plan, launched by the Mayor of London at the English National Opera, provides theatres with step-by-step guidance to improve diversity, such as carrying out an accurate assessment of their current workforce, setting targets and improving recruitment processes.

Leading theatres that have already signed up include the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre, the English National Opera, the Young Vic, Sadler’s Wells and major theatre groups including Ambassadors’ Theatre Group, Delfont Mackintosh, Lloyd Webber theatres and Nimax. In addition to venues around England, 13 theatres in Scotland have also signed up including National Theatre Scotland, Scottish Ballet and major theatres in Edinburgh, Glasgow , Aberdeen and Dundee including those owned by Capital Theatres as well as 26 theatres in Wales.

Bectu diversity officer Janice Turner said: “Rather than putting the onus on employers to address this issue alone we decided to assist them by using the best knowledge we had available – our members’ experiences. We asked reps about the reality of theatre recruitment to establish how it really works.

“Once we had the information we were able to put together an informed plan of action for recruiters in theatres to help them take the right steps to ensure that the theatre industry reflects the society we live in. As theatres start to put the plan into action we will continue discussions with them about how they are best placed to continue pushing for progress.”

A key element is to unite theatres to go beyond their traditional means of recruitment and locate new sources of talent. The union has invited the employers to join in a working group to identify new sources of BAME talent – dividing the work up and pooling the results. People with appropriate skills working outside mainstream theatre or in other industries – for example costume and wardrobe departments would be looking for those who make costumes or other clothing.

Bectu will support the theatres to share knowledge on successful approaches, to support an industry-wide push for a more representative workforce and measure the success of the initiative.