Freelancers in the Dark: the economic, cultural, and social impacts of Covid-19 on theatre freelancers

Maples, Holly, Edelman, Joshua ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8298-4845, FitzGibbon, Ali, Harris, Laura, Klich, Rosemary, Tartoff, Kurt and Young, Alexandra (2022) Freelancers in the Dark: the economic, cultural, and social impacts of Covid-19 on theatre freelancers. Project Report. University of Essex.

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Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all levels of the UK theatre industry, particularly independent arts workers (IAWs) who are essential to the sector’s sustainability and survival. The repeated closures, restrictions, and changing safety guidelines caused by the global public health crisis had wide ranging impacts upon the, largely freelance, UK theatre workforce, affecting livelihoods, working practices, and support networks.