The Week in Light & Sound

Digital Reversal - Freelance theatre professionals are relieved to see the government’s controversial Making Tax Digital reforms dropped after unions lobbied intensively against the changes. The proposals, which included quarterly data submissions and covered all businesses with a turnover of more than £10,000, including self-employed individuals, were previously branded a “bureaucratic nightmare” by the union Equity.
Entertainment union BECTU also raised concerns about the reforms, calling for the sector to be exempted from requirements due to the nature of the work. Accountants had estimated that the impact on the average self-employed person in the industry could be about £1,250 per year, based on the costs of current software and tax administration.
But now the Making Tax Digital reforms, which were due to come in from April 2018, have been dropped from the government’s Finance Bill 2017. Equity said it recognises this to be a reaction to its lobbying in opposition to the changes, alongside other organisations.
Alan Lean, Equity’s tax and welfare rights officer, said: “This would have been a huge administrative and cost burden on entertainment professionals with no proven benefit in terms of tax savings for the government…We and others have lobbied intensively for the plans to be revised and the reaction of our members has been magnificent. Many have written to their MPs and they have also participated in meetings with HMRC.”
Weekend of Action - A performing arts festival has been set up to celebrate the life of politician Jo Cox, who was murdered in June last year. The Change of Art Festival has been established by a group of theatre practitioners and artists who met through the anti-fascism advocacy organisation Hope Not Hate. It will take place in London on 17 June at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre, on the first anniversary of Cox’s death. It will be part of the Weekend of Action, a nationwide series of events organised by Hope Not Hate. Tickets for the festival are free, with a ‘pay what you decide’ option, and the full line-up will be announced later this month.
New Direction - Former One Direction star Harry Styles has announced his first solo world tour to promote his self-titled album. The trek will begin in the autumn across 13 venues in the United States, before heading off to Europe and the UK and concluding in Tokyo. The North American leg kicks off in mid-September in San Francisco and includes stops at New York's Radio City Music Hall and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. In Paris, Styles will play at the Olympia in Paris before heading off to Germany and, finally, London's Eventim Apollo in 29 and 30 October.
Top Dogs - Legally Blonde the Musical will tour the UK later this year. The production will star Lucie Jones as Elle. Jones played the part of Elle in a production at Leicester's Curve theatre last year, and is set to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. She will star alongside EastEnders actor Rita Simons as Paulette and Bill Ward as Professor Callahan. Auditions will be held for the role of Rufus the dog at every location on the tour.

(Jim Evans)
2 May 2017