Daldry hits at Broadway restrictions on UK stars
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Your support makes all the difference.Stephen Daldry, one of Britain's leading film and theatre directors, has accused the US theatre union of using restrictive practices to stop British actors performing in America.
Daldry, nominated for an Oscar for the movie Billy Elliot, is angry that West End producers' enthusiasm for Hollywood stars is not matched by similar opportunities for UK performers on Broadway.
He is preparing to take his acclaimed play, Far Away, to New York – but with American actors instead of the British cast that won rave reviews during its recent run in London. The production was led by Linda Bassett, who starred in East is East. Her role will go to Frances McDormand, Oscar-winning American star of the Coen brothers' thriller Fargo.
Speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, the former artistic director of London's Royal Court Theatre said he had no objection to the casting of American stars in Britain but claimed US producers and professional bodies should reciprocate.
"Most of the time when a play has been put on with a Hollywood star, it probably wouldn't have happened without them, and they tend to bring in new audiences. The only thing I really get angry about is why more English actors aren't allowed to perform in New York. American Equity restricting that over the Atlantic is a restrictive practice and should be stopped."
Alan Eisenberg, the executive director of the American Actors' Equity Association, said Daldry's claim was "totally incorrect". "The statistics clearly show that there are more British actors working in the US than Americans working in the UK," he said.
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