Equity members including Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Julie Waters send open letter to government demanding visa-free travel for artists

For the last few months, dire messages have been circulated by touring companies warning of the logistical nightmare which now presents itself for productions across Europe. Each EU member state has its own rules, tariffs and visa application systems that, pre-Brexit, were not an issue for touring companies. 

Members of Equity including Sir Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Dame Julie Walters, Miriam Margolyes, Melaine La Barrie, Emmanuel Kojo, Harriet Walker, Juliet Stevenson, Cyril Nri and Tanya Franks have signed a letter calling for new visa terms for artists to be introduced. 

The impact for touring productions post-Brexit has been made plain and clear in the letter; “Now we have to pay hundreds of pounds, fill in form after form, and spend weeks waiting for approval - just so we can do our jobs.”

The consequences of these measures have already been seen, claiming “job advertisements and castings are asking for EU passport holders only to apply”. 

The Equity letter warns of the “irreplaceable harm to the UK’s creative workforce, our industries and to our standing on the international cultural stage” in the upcoming months and years. The creative industries (pre-Covid) were rapidly growing, worth around £112bn to the economy every year. 

This news comes at such a devastating time, especially with the pandemic still having a hold over the closures of theatres, nearly a year on. A large portion of the freelance theatre workforce have not been protected by the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and job opportunities are sparse right now. 

You can find out more about Equity, the UK trade union for creative practitioners by visiting their website here. You can also follow the latest debates through their Twitter.