In the second in our series of interviews with Equity Officers, Nick Fletcher, one of our two Vice-Presidents talks about his life, career, Equity activism and why you should get involved.
Please tell us a bit about yourself, your career and personal interests.
I'm a London based actor, now in my early fifties, married to Karen and father to Katie. Over the years I've worked in theatre, film and television. Like most actors, I'd more or less always known that that was what I wanted to do, though very early on I was spellbound by circus clowns. I was born in Switzerland where a very famous clown called Dimitri made a huge impression on me. His act, apart from some daring stuff getting elephants to sit on him, was mainly just him sitting on a stool balanced on a slackline playing the saw. And yet somehow that act seemed as nuanced and meaningful (and funny) as a performance of King Lear might seem to me now. But it was the RSC that cemented my dreams as a teenager. My dad took me to see all three parts of The Plantagenets on a single Saturday, nine solid hours of Shakespeare history plays which I was dreading in advance, and which blew my mind from beginning to end once we sat down in the theatre. I haven't done very much with the RSC in my working life, so far, but I'm proud to have worked at the NT several times, most recently in The Crucible. The most fun I've had in front of the camera was playing Father Fogden in Outlander. Between jobs I've had various side hustles over the years, role-play and facilitation in industry and the public sector and so on. Lately I've professionalised my hobby and qualified as a rock climbing instructor and mountain leader. Right now I'm instructing at an indoor wall in London, though I prefer taking people outdoors. My unpaid climbing is a big part of my life. I'm slowly ticking off the list of eighty-two 4000m peaks in the Alps. I've done thirty-five of them, including the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.
When and why did you first join Equity?
I joined the union as a child member in 1987. There'd been an ad in the back of the Stage looking for boys my age to act in a Granada TV drama called After The War. I got one of the main parts and spent a summer holiday being directed by a young John Madden and working with actors like Haydn Gwynne and Patrick Malahide and Frederick Treves. They encouraged me to apply for Equity membership. This was right at the end of the closed shop era that the then Conservative government was legislating out of existence, so it was only because of doing that job that I was entitled to an Equity card. And I was incredibly proud of it. Though it took a few years of reading the sometimes bewilderingly complicated correspondence from the union to appreciate the real gravity of trade union membership. I remember being impressed by Equity's policy on the sale of members' work in apartheid South Africa. But probably the most persuasive bits of paperwork were the collective agreement booklets that seemed to appear out of nowhere as I began each job in my twenties. Minutely negotiated terms and conditions and rates of pay, there in black and white, all collectively bargained with the relevant producers associations, safeguarding your minimum standards in an otherwise chaotic and ephemeral work life.
On a collective level the feeling of involvement and influence over matters affecting not just you but tens of thousands of your peers is very rewarding.
Why did you decided to become active in the union? Did you hold any other posts in the union before Vice President.
In 2010 there was an all-member invitation to attend the one-off Manifesto For Theatre conference, hosted by Equity at the Lyric Hammersmith. A couple of years on from the 2008 crash, it was the tipping point of austerity and what turned out to be a coalition government was surely going to be tightening the screws. I had a mixed experience there, admiring the seriousness of many of the activists but worrying about the grandstanding of some timewasters who almost seemed to be sabotaging the occasion. I chatted with Malcolm Sinclair during one of the breaks and was impressed by his vision and commitment. Later that year he was elected President of Equity and two years after that, at the next Council election, I decided to run for Council myself and be part of the growth and change that Malcolm was at the centre of. On Council I've always been on the general list rather than representing a specialism or a nation or region. I've served as a Council appointee to the board of BECS and did three terms on the Stage Industrial Committee, two of those as chair.
What would you say to people who are thinking about becoming active in the union for the first time?
Don't hesitate. There are elections coming up for two-year terms on the Industrial, Equalities and National Committees. Nominations open on 5 March and the deadline is 2 May. Elections for Council and President come around again in 2026. On a personal level, If you get elected, there's a mixture of fulfilment and frustration on the road ahead. It can take a long time to make things happen. But on a collective level the feeling of involvement and influence over matters affecting not just you but tens of thousands of your peers is very rewarding.
What has been your proudest moment as an Equity activist?
This is a tricky question. There's nothing I want to take individual credit for. But again and again I've felt huge pride in things we've achieved collectively, knowing that I was a cog in the trade union machine that achieved those things. The success of last year's Stand Up For 17% campaign on the West End deal felt huge. The legislative framework for trade unions in this country is incredibly restrictive, and this was the first time I'd seen the possibility of industrial action legally (and effectively) leveraged in collective bargaining on a theatre agreement. The process has changed the whole landscape. In general, I'm proud to know or to have known different generations of activists whose voluntary commitment and effort have shaped what the union does. If I started naming them and saying why then this paragraph would go on for pages. Also there are and have been professional trade unionist members of staff whose expertise and dedication are inspirational. Brilliant ones working on your behalf right now. Let me mention one name not only because he was extraordinary at Equity but also because he died a couple of years ago, long time Assistant General Secretary Martin Brown.
Again and again I've felt huge pride in things we've achieved collectively, knowing that I was a cog in the trade union machine that achieved those things.
Please tell us about the role of Vice President, what does it entail?
There are two of us. Like the Honorary Treasurer we are elected by our fellow Council members at the beginning of each two-year term. With the President and General Secretary that makes five Officers. We have one meeting in advance of every Council meeting to discuss recommendations for the agenda, and another where we all meet with the Secretariat (basically the heads of department) a week before that for detailed updates on the work of the union. We are entitled to attend any committee meeting on a non-voting basis. And the aim is for one of us to travel and report to all of the annual National and Regional meetings every year. So it's a role with real oversight and influence. I still can't work the kind of magic that some members think Equity has forgotten to take care of. But I can if necessary challenge the General Secretary and his colleagues far more effectively than I could from a straightforward General List seat, and I can really drive questions or issues that I think need oxygen.
What one thing to do you want Equity to achieve over the next two years?
The big one is the dispute with Spotlight. This is such a difficult and sensitive question. But our surveying shows that this issue is a top priority for our members. Spotlight has a de facto monopoly. Four years ago, the American entity Talent Systems bought out this historic family business that had already stopped the expensive printing of hard copy directories. Our working lives are precarious and our incomes are, for most members, unpredictable and low. We cannot leave the question unasked: are the subscriptions Spotlight is charging a reasonable reflection of its actual costs? Or is Talent Systems rinsing a captive market of vulnerable freelance artists to line the pockets of invisible investors? If so, we are not backing down. The court date is in July.
If you were inspired by Nick’s story, then why not get involved by standing in our upcoming committee elections.
Find out more about Equity's elections
