West End shows face potential closure amid union strike vote

Some of the biggest West End shows could be forced to temporarily close during a “summer of turbulence” in London after union members voted to move towards strike action over a dispute about pay and conditions.

An indicative ballot held by the performing arts union, Equity, was overwhelmingly backed by its membership: 98% voted yes to potential strikes. The result means the union now has the right to have a statutory ballot on taking industrial action.

A recent report on British theatre found that demand for live performance had never been higher. Last year, 37 million people attended shows around the UK and more than 17 million did so in the West End.

Despite the record audiences, theatre producers are facing financial challenges after the costs of production doubled in a decade. Ticket prices in London remain much lower than on Broadway.

The general secretary of Equity, Paul W Fleming, said: “The West End has had a very successful three years. Our members want to share in that success and they’re tired of antiquated working conditions. They really have snapped.”

Equity and the Society of London Theatre (Solt) have been negotiating their multiyear agreement since December 2025, but have come to an impasse over pay, holidays and how injuries caused while performing are handled.

The union has proposed a 7% pay increase for its members every year for the next three. It is also pushing for better holiday and incapacity pay if a worker is injured on a production.

Fleming said he was hopeful industrial action could be avoided, as it was in 2023, but if it did happen it wouldn’t mean that the whole of the West End would “go dark”; instead the big weekend shows that were economic drivers for producers would be targeted.

Equity has about 1,000 members, including performers and stage managers in the West End working on 44 shows, including hits for producers such as Cameron Mackintosh and Sonia Friedman.

If an agreement is not reached when the two sides meet on 10 June, then the union could ballot its membership on whether they would be prepared to take part in a strike, which would affect matinees and evening shows on Saturdays.

Fleming said: “If Solt doesn’t come back with a proposal that implements the proposal we’ve just balloted our members on, then we will be balloting for industrial action.”

A spokesperson for Solt said: “Constructive, good faith discussions are ongoing, and we have already made meaningful progress together in a number of areas.

“We look forward to our upcoming meeting with the Equity team and remain committed to the jointly agreed process, and to continued productive discussions to reach a fair, sustainable minimum terms agreement as soon as possible.”