Danni Perry’s flag display at the Royal Opera House sparked 182 performers to sign a solidarity letter that cancelled the Tel Aviv Tosca production, while Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Tel Aviv hotels, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
‘Coronavirus has highlighted deep-seated problems in the arts industry’
The new leader of actors’ union Equity, PAUL FLEMING, talks to Will Stone about the impact of coronavirus on the performing arts, the union’s Four Pillars plan to aid recovery and the crisis of representation and equality in the world of culture
Pic: Mark Thomas
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BRITAIN’S arts industry is in the midst of an “existential crisis.” So says Paul W Fleming, newly elected leader of actors’ union Equity.
The stark stats would certainly suggest so. A huge 40 per cent of Equity members haven’t been able to get financial help through the government’s coronavirus support packages, according to the union’s own figures.
More than a fifth have applied for universal credit and a similar number are either working outside the entertainment industry or are actively looking for other work.
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