#PullUpOrShutUp
Hi there - for those of you who don’t know us, we are Ramin, Ceri and Abbii. We welcome Theatre Action’s (@TheatreCTA) call for greater transparency regarding Black representation in the theatre industry. DEM Productions has been working across Fringe, Off-West End and West End theatre for the last 6 years (2014-2020).
We have compiled data on 426 individuals we have worked with in the following capacities: Creatives, Performers, Musicians, Crew/Production, Marketing & PR, and Producers. This is on projects ranging from rehearsed readings, workshops, and full productions from pub theatre plays to West End musicals (a total of 24). We have compiled data on racial identity, gender identity, sexuality and disability.
DEM Productions comprises 3 permanent company staff, of which 2 are female-identifying and 1 is male-identifying. 2 are White and 1 is of mixed heritage.
Of the 426 individuals we have worked with in the capacities listed above since 2014:
52.6% (224) were Male-Identifying, of which 0.9% (2) identified as Trans-gender Male
46.9% (200) were Female-Identifying, of which 0% (0) identified as Trans-gender Female
0.5% (2) identified as Non-Binary/Gender Fluid
79.8% (340) were White-European
8.0% (34) were of other White backgrounds (including Jewish)
5.4% (23) were Black
1.9% (8) were South Asian
2.6% (11) were East Asian
2.3% (10) were Mixed Race
0.7% (3) identified as having a physical disability
11.7% (50) identified as a Gay Man
1.9% (8) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman
1.2% (5) identified as Bisexual
0.1% (4) identified elsewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
As a small core team, we are incredibly fortunate to have worked closely with all of these individuals. The data we have compiled is based on our very best knowledge of the individuals we have worked with, however we feel it is important that we note it is likely that there are gaps in our knowledge, and that therefore the data cannot be 100% accurate.
We apologise that we have not consistently and accurately monitored the representation present within our workforce, and we must do better. Going forwards, we will be finding ways to more accurately and sensitively monitor the representation in our workforce across areas including but not limited to racial identity, gender identity, sexuality, disability and class (an area we regrettably have insufficient data for at this time). This is work we are doing now.
Further Breakdown
It may be the case that, as a mid-sized company, we are in a unique position of having worked with enough people to have statistically significant data, whilst also having the ability to recall (with recognised limitation) the individual identities that we have recorded here.
With this in mind, and as our data comes from such a significant range of areas of the workforce and the theatre ecology, we wanted to break this down further.
Of 133 Creatives:
Please note: 1 creative has also worked with us as a performer and so their data is included individually in both breakdowns, but just once in the overall figures
53.38% (71) were Male-Identifying, of which 2.82% (2) identified as a Trans-gender Male
46.62% (62) were Female-Identifying, of which 0% (0) identified as Trans-gender Female
86.47% (115) were White-European
9.02% (12) were of other White backgrounds (including Jewish)
1.50% (2) were Black
0% (0) were South Asian
2.26% (3) were East Asian
0.75% (1) was Mixed Race
0.75% (1) identified as having a physical disability
18.80% (25) identified as a Gay Man
1.50% (2) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman
2.26% (3) identified as Bisexual
0.75% (1) identified elsewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
Of 160 Performers:
51.88% (83) were Male-Identifying, of which 1.2% (1) identified as a Trans-gender Male
47.50% (76) were Female-Identifying, of which 0% (0) identified as Trans-gender Female
0.63% (1) identified as Non-Binary/Gender Fluid
65.00% (104) were White-European
8.13% (13) were of other White backgrounds (including Jewish)
13.13% (21) were Black
5.00% (8) were South Asian
4.38% (7) were East Asian
4.38% (7) were Mixed Race
1.25% (2) identified as having a physical disability
6.88% (11) identified as a Gay Man
1.88% (3) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman
0.63% (1) identified as Bisexual
1.25% (2) identified elsewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
Of 35 Musicians
77.14% (27) were Male-Identifying
22.86% (8) were Female-Identifying
97.14% (34) were White-European
2.86% (1) was Mixed Race
0% disclosed their sexuality
Of 60 Crew/Production Team Members
43.33% (26) were Male-Identifying
55.00% (32) were Female-Identifying
1.67% (1) identified as Non-Binary/Gender Fluid
85.00% (50) were White-European
11.67% (7) were of other White backgrounds (including Jewish)
0% (0) were Black
0% (0) were South Asian
1.67% (1) was East Asian
1.67% (1) was Mixed Race
6.67% (4) identified as a Gay Man
1.67% (1) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman
1.67% (1) identified elsewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
Of 20 Marketing/PR Personnel
35% (7) were Male-Identifying
65% (13) were Female-Identifying
100% (20) were White-European
0% were of other racial backgrounds
20% (4) identified as a Gay Man
5% (1) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman
Of 17 Producers
64.71% (11) were Male-Identifying
35.29% (6) were Female-Identifying
88.24% (15) were White-European
11.76% (2) were of other White backgrounds (including Jewish)
0% were of other racial backgrounds
35.29% (6) identified as a Gay Man
5.88% (1) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman
5.88% (1) identified as Bisexual
From this breakdown, we can see that the vast majority of Black, South Asian, East Asian, and Mixed Race individuals that are recorded in our total data are performers (160 individuals - 65% White-European, 8.1% Other White Background, 13.1% Black, 5.0% South Asian, 4.4% East Asian, 4.4% Mixed Race).
These more representative figures (though still not fully representative of London’s ethnic make-up) exist because of concerted efforts in the casting process of a number of productions to ensure representation on stage. There were no quotas for any production. We took the time and effort to ensure that we had seen enough people that we could knowingly cast the best performers for the roles, regardless of their background and identity. While there is still much room for us to do better, this is something we can be proud of and shows that hard work on the part of producers, directors, and casting directors can lead to better and fairer representation.
However, of the 130 creatives we’ve worked with, only 6 (4.5%) did not identify as being of a white background. This process has highlighted how we had only actively paid attention to visible diversity on stage and neglected to focus on the creators backstage. We must do better.
Ramin Sabi, Ceri Lothian & Abbii Clark, 16th June 2020
UPDATE: Further Intersectional Data Breakdown
Thank you to those who have called for a further intersectional breakdown of our data on Black artists, particularly relatig to those who identify as LGBTQIA+. Please find our data below.
Of 23 Black identifying individuals
4.4% (1) identified as Non-binary/Gender-fluid (this person worked in the capacity of Performer)
8.7% (2) identified as Bisexual (1 Performer, 1 Creative)
8.7% (2) identified as a Lesbian/Gay Woman (1 Performer, 1 Crew/Production Team Member)