12.15pm - 12.30pm
Dr Holly Maples
East 15 Acting School
Freelancers make up the bulk of the UK’s theatre ecosystem, serving in a wide variety of vital roles such as writers, actors, designers, producers, technicians, sign-language interpreters, workshop facilitators, front of house staff and countless more.
They form an essential body of talent for the field, with the experience and skills needed to keep the sector operating and moving forward.
The effect of the social and physical restrictions put in place in March 2020 to curb the spread of the pandemic had immediate and severe effects on freelancers’ lives, careers, and well-being which are likely to have long-term consequences for them and the sector as a whole.
These effects played out in a social field marked by existing inequalities; inequalities which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and state and sector level responses.
This project aims to document, investigate and analyse the experience of theatre freelancers across the UK during the pandemic, in order to help them and the sector develop resilience, create more effective policies and structures, and help build a more supportive, inclusive, and vital theatre for all parts of the UK.This project investigates the social, cultural, and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on independent theatre workers across the UK.