Casting couch is written out of the script at theatres
National Theatre director reveals that actors and actresses no longer have to face auditions on their own
IT WAS once part of the dreadful cliché of film and theatre, as up-and-coming actors were forced to endure the threat of the casting couch.
The British theatre industry has taken steps to ensure that spectre is firmly consigned to history, as they pledge to ban one-on-one auditions.
The casting director of the National Theatre has disclosed that actors and actresses will never be asked to meet a play’s director without someone else in the room, saying: “Those days are gone, and quite rightly so.”
The world of theatre, like Hollywood, has been disturbed by allegations of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey, who was the Old Vic’s artistic director from 2004 to 2015, and emerging stories from actors and theatre staff elsewhere.
Earlier this year, a survey found nearly a third of theatre professionals in the UK had experienced sexual harassment at work.
Numerous theatres have since taken steps to improve their support for staff, including signing up to guidelines on “safe spaces” by Equity.
Speaking on the podcast In House, interviewed by Mark Shenton, Alastair Coomer, the casting director of the National Theatre, said there had been regular conversations since the #Metoo disclosures.
“We would never put a director into a room with an actor on their own unless they already had a professional relationship,” he said. “And certainly we’ve always been really, really considerate about younger actors going into rooms with people.
“Gone are the days where, when I first started [in the industry], actors would often go to meet senior writers and directors at their home. I don’t think there was anything sinister in it but I think it was a rather naive time.
“Those days are gone, and quite rightly so. We’re vigilant about it. We have conversations as a department about it, constantly within the organisation, about it.”
A spokesman for the Royal Court theatre, whose director Vicky Featherstone has led the way on a “code of behaviour” for the industry, said: “As a matter of course we always have more than one person present in auditions. Alongside the director there’s always a member of the Royal Court casting team and because we’re a new writing theatre the writer is usually there, too.”
A spokesman for the Old Vic said the theatre had a similar casting process, with all casting calls attended by the casting director and her team as well as the directing team of the production in question.
“The theatre’s cultural statement
‘We would never put a director into a room with an actor on their own unless they [knew each other]’
gives clear behaviour and conduct guidance for all those working with and for the Old Vic,” she added.
Equity, the actors’ union, has already offered theatres guidance on a “safe spaces” campaign in which signed-up directors, including the National Thea- tre’s Rufus Norris, read out a statement of “respect” to cast and crew at the beginning of productions,
It states: “Every single one of us working on this project is entitled to work in a safe space: a space free of fear, a space free of bullying and harassment of any kind. We will work together honouring our differences and celebrating the gifts we each bring to the table.
“We will treat one another with politeness and respect at all times and, if we are subjected to or witness bullying and harassment, we will speak out knowing that our voices will be heard and we will be taken seriously. Together we can create a Safe Space.”