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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2017 12:52:55 GMT
I am curious by this. Not from an outside perspective as we all know a show announces closure and then closes on said date unless it extends or closes even earlier and blah blah blah, but I'm intrigued what happens inside the actual company. Do the cast get warning they may close before they officially get told they are closing so they can find new jobs or? Is there a legal amount of time in which a show has to announce before it actually closes? I know I Can't Sing announced two weeks before its closure but can shows do less than that? What if the cast have a contract signed for a year but the show closes say 9 months in? Do they get any type of compensation for the show closing early? Do shows that aren't selling slowly begin to cut out aspects of the show to make it cheaper to run?
I have more questions, but I'm just generally curious, so if anyone knows?  |
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Post by duncan on May 13, 2017 15:05:50 GMT
I've always assumed that for contracts with the performers and backstage staff that whilst they will be fixed term there will also be a break clause on the side of the Producers to allow them to shut a show without having to fulfil the full term of the contract.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2017 16:24:11 GMT
As far as the law is concerned there's a statutory minimum period of notice that must be given to any employee and there's also the period of notice stated in the employment contract, but there's no requirement to provide work for that period, only pay. If a company isn't covering its operating costs then trying to keep going is just wasting money that could be going to the employees and other creditors, so the absolute shortest period between announcement and closure could be as short as "Go home; don't come back". But that doesn't happen often, because if a show can get past its first few weeks it's unlikely to be in so desperate a state as to need an instant shutdown.
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Post by Jon on May 13, 2017 23:33:54 GMT
Do shows that aren't selling slowly begin to cut out aspects of the show to make it cheaper to run?
I don't think the producers would try and make a show cheaper to run as it would noticeable in the eye of the audience, things like cast and sets can't be cut down although when a show moves theatre, they'll probably do the cost cutting then but they'd risk invoking unions if they decided to cut casts down just in an effort to save money. A long runner usually has a longer notice period of around six months because producers can forecast from advance sales that things won't pick up and so decide to close the show. It happened with War Horse where sales had fallen and they decided to not continue once cast contracts had ended. It can be shorter as has been the case for shows like WWRY, Blood Brothers, Chicago etc |
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Post by samuelwhiskers on May 14, 2017 12:13:54 GMT
I don't know about West End musicals but it's not unheard of in smaller shows to inform casts last minute. I know actors who were told "show is closed as of today, go home." West End contracts would break clauses, etc of course. I know this thread's not about fringe but an awful lot of fringe shows don't use contracts at all, so the actors have no protection.
I don't know if being freelance makes any difference to employment law or if it's just that the entertainment industry often plays so fast and loose with the law due to the knowledge (belief?) actors wouldn't sue for fear of being blacklisted.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2017 14:21:19 GMT
I remember reading that the writer of Glory Days (which closed opening night on Broadway) found out from the headline on Playbill.com.
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Post by profquatermass on May 15, 2017 14:33:53 GMT
That Oscar Wilde show at the Shaw Theatre closed on the day the reviews were published. I assume the cast would have turned up to the theatre expecting to perform (if not to many people)
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Post by Phantom of London on May 15, 2017 15:39:35 GMT
You, You, You, You.........But Not You.
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Post by firefingers on May 15, 2017 16:05:48 GMT
I believe Equity states a two week notice period, but it may save a producer money to cancel the performances but still pay the companies' wages. A producer is alsi meant to have two weeks wages set aside so if they go under then the cast still get their two weeks notice.
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Post by Jon on May 15, 2017 17:23:00 GMT
I believe Equity states a two week notice period, but it may save a producer money to cancel the performances but still pay the companies' wages. A producer is alsi meant to have two weeks wages set aside so if they go under then the cast still get their two weeks notice. I assume most long running shows have reserves to cover losses in the lean periods. |
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Post by Jon on May 15, 2017 18:30:28 GMT
I don't think the producers would try and make a show cheaper to run as it would noticeable in the eye of the audience, things like cast and sets can't be cut down although when a show moves theatre, they'll probably do the cost cutting then but they'd risk invoking unions if they decided to cut casts down just in an effort to save money. On Broadway, they certainly did at "Beauty and the Beast" - "Forbidden Broadway" do an amazing song about it. West End shows too, cut running time to bring it in before "orchestra overtime" kicks in. It happens. Beauty moved to a smaller theatre which enabled them to use the tour set and cut costs. Mamma Mia! when it moved to the Novello, used the vastly inferior tour set. Didn't Lion King cut nine minutes from the production? |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 18:34:40 GMT
I never saw Mamma Mia! until it was at the Novello, what was the inital set like?
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Post by Jon on May 15, 2017 18:48:56 GMT
I never saw Mamma Mia! until it was at the Novello, what was the inital set like? Bigger for one and a lot less boxy. There was automation as well which was added when they moved to the Prince of Wales. |
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