Equity, formerly officially titled the British Actors' Equity Association, is the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

for the performing arts and entertainment industries in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Formed by a group of West End performers in 1930, the union grew to include performers and stage management nationwide, as well as gaining recognition in audio, film, and television. Equity incorporated the Variety Artistes' Federation in 1967, and now represents most professionals whose work is presented on stage or screen. As of 2021, it had just over 46,000 members, including actors, singers, dancers, variety artistes and other performers, models, theatre directors, choreographers, designers, and stage management. Equity requires its members to have unique professional names to avoid confusion with other artists and entertainers.

History

Equity was created in 1930 by a group of West End performers, including

Godfrey Tearle Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle (12 October 1884 – 9 June 1953) was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential British gentleman on stage and in both British and US films. Biography Born in New York City and brought up in United Kingdom of ...

, May Whitty and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

. They were advised by Robert Young, the "Actors' MP". Like many other British trade unions, Equity operated a

closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fr ...

policy, so it was not possible for someone to join unless they had a record of sufficient paid work and most jobs were reserved for Equity card holders. To allow new members to join, there were a limited number of non-card-holding jobs on regional productions. While working on these productions, actors held a provisional membership card, and could apply for full membership upon completing the requisite number of weeks, subsequently allowing them to work in the West End or on film and television. As a result of reforms of trade unions by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government and the introduction of European legislation, closed-shop unions became illegal in the UK and Equity discontinued their closed-shop policy in the 1980s. However, to join Equity in the present day, evidence of sufficient paid professional work must still be provided. In 1976, Equity introduced a policy of refusing to sell programmes to the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

, an action that led to a virtual ban of British television in

apartheid-era South Africa Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, which was not lifted until 1993. The

Clarence Derwent Awards The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway theatre, Broadway in the United States and by Equity (trade union), Equity, the performers' union, in the West End theatre, West End in the ...

are theatre awards given annually by Equity on Broadway in the US and Equity UK in London's West End. In regard to the

2023 SAG-AFTRA strike From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Pro ...

, Equity released a statement: 'Equity stands full square behind our sister union.'

Presidents

* 1932: Godfrey Seymour Tearle * 1940: Lewis Thomas Casson * 1946: Beatrix Lehmann * 1948: Leslie Banks * 1949:

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

* 1969: Ernest Clark * 1973:

André Morell Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as ...

* 1975: Hugh Manning * 1978: John Barron * 1982: Hugh Manning * 1984: Derek Bond * 1986:

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

* 1992: Jeffry Wickham * 1994: Frederick Pyne * 2002: Harry Landis * 2008: Graham Hamilton * 2010: Malcolm Sinclair * 2018: Maureen Beattie * 2022: Lynda Rooke

General Secretaries

*1930: Alfred M. Wall *1939: C. B. Purdom *1940:

Llewellyn Rees Walter Llewellyn Rees (18 June 1901 – 7 January 1994) was an English actor. Career His television roles included appearances on ''Doctor Who'' (in the serial ''The Deadly Assassin'' (1976) playing the assassinated Time Lord President), '' Th ...

*1946: Gordon Sandison *1958: Gerald Croasdell *1973: Peter Plouviez *1991: Ian McGarry *2005: Christine Payne *2020: Paul W. Fleming

References

External links

* {{Media in the United Kingdom, comporg 1930 establishments in the United Kingdom Actors' trade unions Entertainment industry unions Film organisations in the United Kingdom International opposition to apartheid in South Africa Television organisations in the United Kingdom Theatrical organisations in the United Kingdom Trade unions affiliated with the Scottish Trades Union Congress Trade unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress Trade unions based in London Trade unions established in 1930 Trade unions in the United Kingdom

History

Presidents

General Secretaries

See also

References

Further reading

External links