What are your thoughts on pay in theatre? 

Today The Stage reported on the union BECTU’s decision to raise theatre staff pay to national minimum wage. 

Theatre Deli are very proud to be the first theatre company in the UK to sign up to Living Wage UK accreditation, which we’ve been part of since 2014. Currently the minimum hourly pay we give staff is £8.75 regionally and £10.20 in London. We are not publicly funded and don’t generate any where near as much income as the big regional theatres, so we were surprised to hear that staff in those theatres are still working for less than £8 ph even with this suggested raise. 

Let’s be honest, we get it, as we know it’s quite a commitment paying those rates. But we believe it’s staff that make organisations great. Our staff on hourly wages, including our Front of House, bar and tech staff, are arguably the most important people we work with ensuring audiences and artists are happy.  

What do you think? Should theatres be committing to paying their staff more than the legal minimum? Or should that money be used elsewhere?