West End performers threaten strike action over pay and conditions

West End performers and stage management staff are preparing to vote on potential strike action in a significant escalation of a dispute over pay and working conditions.

The union Equity has launched an indicative ballot as it seeks to push the Society of London Theatre towards what it describes as a “reasonable multi-year settlement” covering pay, terms and conditions. Negotiations for a new agreement have been underway since December 2025, with Equity describing the talks as constructive but insufficient.

The dispute centres on a range of workplace issues, including pay, holiday entitlement, rehearsal working time, injury provisions and stage management differentials. Equity has said current proposals do not meet the union’s expectations, despite tentative progress on maternity and paternity pay, wigs, hair and makeup, and other terms.

Around 1,000 performers and stage management workers currently working across the West End are covered by the collective agreement, with Equity saying the overwhelming majority are union members. They will be asked in an online ballot whether they are prepared to take strike action on Saturdays and implement an overtime ban.

In total, almost 3,000 members are being balloted, including those currently working in the West End and those who have worked there within the past three years. Equity is urging members to vote in support of both questions, arguing a strong result would strengthen its negotiating position.

The union said it has not conducted an indicative ballot of this kind in the West End since the 1980s, underlining the scale of the escalation.

Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said the union hoped a clear message from workers would encourage SOLT negotiators to move towards an acceptable settlement.

“We hope a strong message from the workforce backing the core elements of our revised claim will support SOLT negotiators in moving their members to an acceptable settlement,” Fleming said.

He warned that if the ballot produced a strong result but did not lead to serious movement from producers, “then a summer of disruption awaits.”

Fleming also said West End workers had waited to see wages rise and for a more modern work-life balance in what he described as a precarious industry. He argued that, in the smallest theatres, performers on minimum rates earn less than the UK median wage per week and receive fewer holiday weeks than many other workers.

The ballot is consultative, meaning it would not automatically trigger industrial action. A formal vote would still be required before any strike or overtime ban could proceed.