‘Catastrophic for creative industries’: Brexit barriers shut UK actors out of EU jobs

Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre. The NT halted tours to mainland Europe in 2021. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre. The NT halted tours to mainland Europe in 2021. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian ‘Catastrophic for creative industries’: Brexit barriers shut UK actors out of EU jobs Casting shifts to EU talent as paperwork delays and visa limits make hiring British crews less viable F rom blacklists for UK passport holders to being asked to work illegally while on holiday, the plethora of extra costs and red tape thrown up post-Brexit are restricting opportunities for British actors seeking work in the EU. Mainland Europe has always been a springboard for those in the creative industries, from gaining crucial first credits on a TV, film or theatre production to building a marketable resume and paying the bills while attempting to make it big in the UK or US. The Brexit impact on European touring for musicians has been well documented . In February, the singer Kate Nash said she had resorted to setting up an OnlyFans site to “sell pictures of my bum” to help cover a £26,000 loss on her last European tour because of the additional cost burdens. But there has been relatively little publicity about the impact of leaving the EU on actors and performers in film and TV, on cruise ships, on theatre tours or appearing in commercials. “Brexit has placed British performers in a cultural cul-de-sac,” said Matt Hood, the managing director of Spotlight, the casting directors’ bible that features tens of thousands of profiles of budding and famous UK performers. “What is clear is that the UK has amazing talent, and the opportunity to export that talent has diminished considerably post Brexit.” Between 2016 and 2023, performing arts exports to the EU fell from £1.15bn to £929m, according to the Office for National Statistics. By contrast, figures for creative industry exports to non-EU countries show an 18% increase over the same period, from £1.57bn to £1.87bn. Since Brexit, new barriers that have had a devastating effect for performers include visa rules that only allow work for up to 90 out of 180 days, inclusive of any European holiday time, and myriad customs, tax and other documents that can take an inordinate amount of time and cost to get processed, and can vary between countries. The performers’ union Equity cited one common example of a member being taxed on their accommodation costs because that was classified as a “benefit in kind”, which had a big impact on their net wages. Spotlight pointed out that, for UK performers, social security costs are deducted in the country where they are working – anywhere from 12% to 22% of their pay. This can be reclaimed but the process can take many months, and often requires paying accountants to chase the money. The National Theatre halted tours to mainland Europe in 2021 and Europe’s largest educational touring co