Betty Blue Eyes - Union Theatre

Is it true they are only being paid a pittance for appearing in this show??

It appears to be. Mark Shenton has pointed to it and had a few Twitter spats over it in the last couple of weeks. There is a thread here if you want...

My memory of the West End production is that there were a number of fantasy sequences - and though those are inherently theatrical, they are also a bit of a stop on the dramatic forward motion, those songs not really carrying the story forward.  It may just not be the best candidate for musicalisation.

It's certainly disappointing when a set of songs you've loved don't seem part of a satisfying piece when you see the whole show in its full context.  Biggest example of that for me was 'I Know Him So Well' in Chess - a song which everyone anticipates, and yet achieves very little when it actually arrives, due to the thin storyline of one of the characters, and the fact the structure doesn't really have a compelling place for it.

I saw this tonight and really enjoyed it.

Several members of the cast were obviously much younger than the characters they were portraying, but that starts to make sense given the discussion over what they are being paid.

I thought they did an excellent job. Atherton was wonderful as Joyce and Kipling likewise as Gilbert. The pair had chemistry which contributed to some tender moments.

The comedy landed well but for a few fumbles from some of the older performers, actually. Also, not one to be hypercritical of a child actor but the Veronica Allardyce we saw seemed fairly disengaged from the piece.

I also think this may be the first time I’ve seen a musical where the actors haven’t needed to be mic’d up.

First visit to the Union Theatre also. It’s a really intimate setting and I’d suggest arriving early enough to get seats in the first couple of rows for a really special experience.

Four stars and weighing up whether a return visit could be in order.

As an aside, does anyone know if there are plans for this to have another life after this run? It does feel worthy of a bigger setting and there seems to be a buzz about it after Cameron paid a visit to press night…

I've seen a few shows over the years at the Union and I don't think they have ever been mic'd. Never had a problem hearing as its such a tiny venue.

I saw this on Tuesday evening.

When I booked this I had no idea that I was attending the Press Night.

A free programme and a paper bad fill with fudge was very much appreciated.

The show just works- it's humerous, witty and draws you in.

It has been many years since I have been to the Union Theatre- in fact so long, I got a little lost trying to find it.

I also had forgotten what a small space this was,

Now, whilst I generally don't have a problem with small spaces, it's a problem when you have a cast of this size.

That's not to criticise the talent on stage- there are a lot of extremely good voices however even if you were to reduce the ensemble by 5-6, it would still be be overcrowded.

From memory there was one really bad missed lighting cue in the middle of Act 1.

As I have the original cast recording it took my ear a little while to adjust to the new vocals.

The whole cast work their socks off.

There seemed to be a verse missing from the Painting song and an extra song added that I didn't know.

All the costumes were spot on.

For me, the only song that didn't work in this show for me was There's An Ill Wind; possible because of the staging.

I remember in the original production the ladies singing each wore gas masks.

Whereas in the original Betty was animatronic, in this she's a patchwork pig operated by one handler.

Sir Cameron Macintosh sitting in front of me and either Stiles or Drew-I'm not sure which, next to him.

I do have an issue with the Union operating on a profit share with a maximum of £250 for six weeks work. There's one thing being a group of actors that come together to do something on PS they believe in but very different for a proper in-house month-long run at a respected venue. They should be paying Equity fringe minimum.

I've heard the huge rent bill they are facing as an excuse to make it acceptable but the Union did this long before Covid and the current difficulty. Sasha Regan's all make Pinafore and Mikado are doing the rounds again so where is that money going? Sasha can afford to go to a boutique hotel in Morocco this winter just gone and Paris in February with her daughter. Be nice if she paid her actors and musicians enough to be able to afford a weekend at Butlins...

Sorry, but a good AD leads by example. Getting the begging bowl out to pay the rent while paying actors peanuts is not on. I bet Kevin Wilson PR ain't doing his bit for profit share.

...but if you don't want to work for that amount of money...then don't?

Also, someone going on holiday outside of their job has literally nothing to do with how their business runs? Why are you internet deep diving to find this out - isn't that a bit weird?

I don't understand this argument at all - if you have a problem with it don't give them your money and/or don't work for them. The people who are doing the job evidently didn't have a problem with it or they wouldn't have taken the job - if you don't like it don't do it, but don't tell other people what to do

In any other business a director going on expensive holidays while paying staff less than minimum wage would be considered as pretty crappy behaviour. But it's theatre, so it's ok apparently.

It also suggests poor financial management. The Union were doing this sort of pay back in 2018 and are now claiming financial difficulty solely due to Covid. It's business model has been ropey for a long time. Now they want us to save them again.

Equity and Bectu fight hard to get acceptable - if hardly well-paid - rates for actors and technicians. If we turn a blind eye to this sort of thing we're not valuing the performers and crew as we should. We're saying it's ok for them to be exploited.

I take it you've never worked in the industry as I have? There's a difference being paid badly (but would at least be legal minimum wage) to potentially NOT BEING PAID AT ALL. Actors reluctantly take on these jobs in the hope of it being a shop window for future work. But it's still exploitation by producers and theatrelovers not really minding this is rather sad to my mind.

Sounds like blaming the exploited for being exploited, rather than criticising the exploiters.

Saw this Saturday night. First time for the venue and the show. Loved both. The cast worked their tails off! Loved the choreography too. So glad I saw this!