Equity has announced the signing of two major agreements with leading immersive experience companies, The Lost Estate and Inventive Productions respectively, setting out the minimum terms and conditions for performers and stage management engaged by each company. The new ‘house agreements’ – the name for agreements Equity holds with individual companies – will improve workforce representation within the vast and growing immersive theatre sector and indicate Equity’s increased presence within it.
The Lost Estate (TLE) was founded in 2017 and has had over 250,000 guests in that time. These include a 1950s Cuban cabaret, Paradise Under The Star, a 1930s New York jazz club, 58th Street, and its A Christmas Carol experience, The Great Christmas Feast. It has venues in West Kensington and Peckham.
Inventive Productions was also founded in 2017 and has had over 1 million visitors. It is known for its immersive cocktail experiences, with ten permanent venues across the UK and two in Australia. Experiences include the prison-themed Alcotraz, the alien-world of Avora, and the Wild West Moonshine Saloon.
Karrim Jalali, Equity Industrial Official, said:
“The Lost Estate and Inventive Productions were already demonstrating fair working practices and pay. But by improving standards further and signing up to a union agreement, they are proving their commitment to a dignified and healthy workforce.
“This is in stark contrast to many other immersive companies who have fought tooth and nail to deny performers and stage management their basic employment rights and whose inadequate health and safety standards puts their workforce at unnecessary risk. In fact, despite these companies’ excuses, Equity’s new immersive agreements show that no production is ‘so unique’ that it cannot operate on a union agreement, setting good pay, terms and conditions for its performers and stage management.”
Improved pay, terms and conditions
The Lost Estate’s good pre-existing terms gave Equity the opportunity to create a sector-leading agreement covering performers and stage management with generous terms, including strong respective weekly minimums. Performers are now paid a minimum of £700 per week for performances, while minimum stage management pay ranges from £715 - £770 per week depending on their role.
I am confident that in the long run, this agreement with Equity will further enable TLE to attract, retain and develop highly-skilled talent from across the industry who are happier, healthier, and more resilient
Eddy Hackett, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of The Lost Estate
Eddy Hackett, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of The Lost Estate, said:
“The Lost Estate has long recognised that in order to create exceptional experiences, it needs to attract the best talent by offering an exciting, mission-driven workplace, a compelling wage, and dignified working conditions. Although I was already proud of our employment terms, it was important to go even further, working with Equity to commit to sector-leading minimum rates, a further commitment to work-life balance through a reduction in maximum overall hours, and an improvement on our paid sickness provisions. I am confident that in the long run, this agreement with Equity will further enable TLE to attract, retain and develop highly-skilled talent from across the industry who are happier, healthier, and more resilient, and are advocates for TLE as a brilliant place to work.”
Inventive Productions has committed to meeting Living Wage Foundation Rates (including London Living Wage Foundation Rates where relevant) as a minimum, and to ensure that all duties are met relating to the employment status of performers as workers in law, including pension enrolment and holiday pay in lieu.
The agreement also includes protections to ensure:
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minimum working sessions of 3 hours or more (and, if lower than 3 hours, paid at a minimum rate of 3 hours)
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a maximum working day of 10 working hours, before overtime provisions at 1.5 the hourly rate applies
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a maximum working week of 40 hours, after which overtime applies at 1.5 the hourly rate.
The agreement came into effect for Moonshine Saloon from 1st July 2025 and then will come into effect for all other UK brands & franchises from 1st October 2025.
As much as we want to be a great experience for our customers, we also want it to be a great experience for our performers working with us, and hope that a deeper relationship with Equity will achieve this goal.
Sam Shearman, Founder and CEO of Inventive Productions
Sam Shearman, Founder and CEO of Inventive Productions, said:
“This partnership with Equity marks a monumental step forward for Inventive Productions. It reflects our deep commitment to championing the rights, well-being, and professional growth of our performers. As much as we want to be a great experience for our customers, we also want it to be a great experience for our performers working with us, and hope that a deeper relationship with Equity will achieve this goal.”
Equity intends to organise further in immersive theatre, a sector which has huge variance in terms of the scale and cost of productions and pay, terms and conditions.
Steffan Blayney, Equity Theatre Organiser, said:
“Equity is supporting and empowering members on a range of immersive productions, and we are committed to working collectively to ensure immersive companies offer proper unionised work. It is imperative that bosses engage performers and stage management lawfully, honouring them rightly as workers in law with basic employment rights. No doubt, Equity will take every possible measure to ensure they do.”
Equity encourages members working in the immersive sector to request to join the Equity Immersive Network mailing list by emailing immersive@equity.org.uk and to share copies of contracts if they have concerns about their rights or working practices to pmpp@equity.org.uk
