Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The Big Freelancer Survey seeks to capture the current experiences of the UK’s freelance theatre workforce, in addition to their working conditions. In 2022, the survey found that 53% of all respondents reported that they had witnessed one or more forms of harassment and/or discrimination in the past twelve months.’ Unfair treatment, sexism, bullying, and racism are explicitly identified in the final survey report as specific forms of harassment or discrimination encountered by participants. Despite increasing attention to the challenges of working as a theatre freelancer, and continued awareness of inequalities within the sector, the specific experiences of LGBT+/Queer individuals in this field remain conspicuously absent from academic research and industry reports. In this paper I argue that the arts industry, and theatre sector specifically, has a responsibility to understand the experiences of marginalized individuals working the arts and ensure there are supported in safe working environments. I will reflect on the development of my pilot research project Queer Institutions, which seeks to capture the experiences of queer freelance performance makers through an anonymous survey, one-to-one interviews, and the collation of existing policies and practices from theatrical institutions. The paper outlines project design and the challenges encountered in collecting data on personal experiences in the workplace. I also utilise the results of early data collection to document contemporary experiences of LGBT+/Queer individuals in the theatre industry and assert some of the ways in which the arts can be more inclusive and supportive of these theatre makers.