Welcome to the East Anglia Branch!
We are the Branch for members who live and work in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. We are an active Branch with a calendar of events from meetings, social gatherings and workshops with career development and networking activities.
Events and Meetings
Nominations open for new Branch Committee
Deadline: 4th September 2023 at 12noon.
Be part of your Union and help grow our Branch! No previous experience is necessary.
Download the nomination form here
For more info Email our Area Organiser.
Launch of the East Anglia Drag Network
Monday 18th September 2023, 6.15pm at Norwich Theatre Playhouse or online via Zoom.
RSVP here
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Monday 9th October 2023, 2pm at The Maddermarket Theatre or online via Zoom. Includes new Branch Committee elections.
RSVP here
Launch of the East Anglia Drag Network Monday 18th September at 6pm Norwich Theatre Playhouse (The Playroom)
Drag is in the spotlight: from TV Shows to brunches, Queer DIY performance spaces to the local pub, today drag is thriving across the UK and more varied, popular and high-profile than ever.
Equity is building drag networks across the country to enable drag artists to organise locally to tackle the issues specific to their city and region, and to build collective power across the country to fight for a fairer and more sustainable industry for all.
Equity is the UK trade union for performing artists and other creative practitioners. Together our members campaign collectively for better conditions, pay, and treatment across the industry... and that includes Drag!
Whether it’s fighting against discrimination and harassment, for proper safety standards and decent pay, or campaigning for a fairer, more sustainable industry, Equity is your union, and the place to come together for change.
This meeting will launch the East Anglia Drag Network - a space for us to come together and find collective solutions to the problems working as drag performers.
Open to all Drag Artists based in East Anglia, whether you are an Equity member or not. You can attend in person or via Zoom.
Sign up here
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If not, check the settings in your profile via the Equity website. This means you have to sign in with your Equity number and then change your settings.
Branch Newsletter and updates
You can also send us your email address direct to make sure you're kept up-to-date. Email Joseph
The Committee
The current committee, up until our AGM on 9th October 2023, is:
Branch Secretary: Joseph Ballard Email Joseph
Chairman: Phil Segon
Treasurer: The Amazing Anthony
Deputy Chairman: Norman Fisher
Assistant Secretary: Giovanni
along with Maureen Rogers, Honra Simms, Jake Ace, Crazy Corin and Razz the Clown.
Helping members in need
The Branch administers different regional funds to help members in financial need.
These are:
- East Anglia Branch Benevolent Fund, the general fund to provide financial assistance to members in need.
- The Region's Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund, to help Variety Artistes.
- The Peachy Mead Memorial Fund, to help and support emerging performers with career development in mind.
To apply for any of the above - for yourself or a fellow member - or ask for more information, contact our Branch Secretary.
Email Joseph
Members are also advised to contact Head Office about Equity's main Benevolent Fund. Read more
History of the Branch
The Branch originally began as the East Anglia Variety Branch in 1983, with Peachy Mead as founding Branch Secretary. Peachy served as Branch Secretary til he passed away in 2021. You can read more about Peachy and his career here.
The Branch used to host a number of Variety shows to raise money for the regional benevolent fund, a tradition which was brought back in 2023 with The Big Variety Show at The Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich.
In 2023 the Branch was renamed to the East Anglia Branch, in line with the Branch Reform.
In May 2023, Joseph Ballard, our Branch Secretary (and also Variety, Circus and Entertainers Councillor on Equity Council) was awarded the Honorary Lifetime Membership Award at the Equity Conference. This was for his services to the Branch, contributions to upholding Variety as an art form, his activism with his own situation in mind regarding Storytime and the attacks upon him, and administering our Benevolent Funds in lockdown and raising more funds for them to help more members.