The actor Britt Ekland has slammed the backstage conditions she encountered on a UK theatre tour, complaining of dressing rooms with buckets collecting rainwater and “draughts strong enough to fly kites” that she says left her with a chest infection.
The Swedish star, whose British films include Get Carter, The Wicker Man and Bond movie The Man With the Golden Gun, singled out the Queen’s theatre in Barnstaple, Devon, for its “very dated” backstage facilities. In a letter to the industry newspaper the Stage, published on Thursday, she wrote: “I am a Viking warrior but is it any wonder I became ill with a chest infection? It’s not a lone example, but certainly one of the worst I’ve ever experienced.”
Ekland is appearing in a revival of John Willard’s comedy thriller The Cat and the Canary, a whodunnit set in a remote mansion. The show began its tour in January and continues until April. She said that it was her first tour of UK theatres in more than 10 years and that while she was impressed by many of the refurbishments she had seen, if some of the poor conditions backstage don’t improve for actors then they “will simply refuse to return”. Ekland said that the response from the venue’s management was “Oh, it’s an old theatre”. She claims that theatres are focusing on spending money on the front of house rather than backstage and she ends the letter calling for theatres to make any necessary repairs and to treat actors with “respect, care and compassion”.
In 2018, Selladoor Worldwide was appointed to run the Queen’s theatre for 10 years after a tender process by its owners, North Devon Council. In a statement, Selladoor said they are “very sorry that Ms Ekland did not enjoy her visit to the Queen’s theatre” and added that her visit to Barnstaple in mid-February coincided with “extremely severe weather conditions” which caused damage to the theatre’s roof. “When concerns were raised, theatre staff responded as soon as it was safe to do so and rectified the problem.” Selladoor stated that they are responsible for the maintenance programme within the building and that the maintenance of the structure of the building, including the roof, is the responsibility of North Devon Council. The council, according to Selladoor, plans to undertake a survey this month “to identify the full scale of the problem and the best course of action for repair”.
In a statement, the actors’ union Equity recognised that “backstage conditions vary across the UK” and advised any of their members who are unhappy with their working conditions to discuss the matter with the Equity representative on the show or get in contact with them directly.
Ekland grew up in Sweden and later moved to the UK and was married to the British actor Peter Sellers in the 1960s. Her role as a Bond girl, playing Mary Goodnight in The Man With the Golden Gun, sealed her fame in the 1970s and in recent years she has made regular appearances in British pantomimes. In a 2008 interview with the Guardian, Ekland talked about her health and fitness regime and said: “I am as far from a hypochondriac as you could ever be. In the past 15 years I’ve maybe had two colds.”
