Monday, July 09, 2012
Old Vic forced to suspend unpaid intern programme
The Stage: London’s Old Vic Theatre is to suspend one of its unpaid internship programmes after coming under pressure from unions and Arts Council England to pay participants the national minimum wage.
The Old Vic has previously been criticised for using unpaid interns, but has cited its lack of public funding, as well as its charitable status, as reasons why it is not able to pay the young workers.
While it is still not revenue-funded by ACE, last month the theatre was given a one-off £5 million Catalyst award by the arts council. This week the Old Vic came under renewed pressure from technical union BECTU and ACE to pay its interns the minimum wage.
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It is disappointing to see that "programmes" in which young people are gaining experience in theater are being closed/ended. Most people working in theater invest long hours into a production, not only for the art, but for the money. The Old Vic is making a detrimentally wrong decision in eradicating their internship "programme" in that the cost of paying interns minimum wage will have ended up being less than what they will have to pay union employees to fill the gap that the absence of interns leaves. The upkeep of the Old Vic, and productions that will be put up in that house, will become very hard to manage and then eventually very expensive as more staff demanding higher salaries is necessary. Sometimes, the money isn't worth the fight, the hardship, the frustration, or the loss. It is also a shame that aspiring theatrical professionals will lose an opportunity for experience in a professional theater, experience that could eventually better the world of the arts or the house itself.
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