The British are coming! And now they want us to come to them.

Yesterday I talked about how we were getting crushed by the Brits in the stage to screen war.

Well, today I’m reporting that they are also advancing on other fronts. And on November 18th, they are landing on our shores and looking to take some prisoners back to their homeland.

I got an email from the Head of UK Trade and Investment NY a few weeks ago that I’m sure was sent to all of the members of the Broadway League. It was a very nice invitation to a reception at the British Consulate General (fancy, right?). What was the reception for? And would there be tea and crumpets?

This official invitation in a very official setting was for a presentation and Q&A session about . . . wait for it . . . UK theatrical tax relief. More specifically, “This event will provide theatre producers, managers, financiers and related professionals with all the information they need to know about the newly introduced UK Theatre Tax Relief, which provides a cash rebate of up to 20% of production costs incurred in the UK or Europe.”

In other words, it’s a presentation that says, “Hey, it’s cheaper to produce over here!”

And all of us Broadway producer peeps were invited.

You see what they’re doing there? It’s a super smart sales pitch.

Now you see why I feel we’re getting beaten at our own game? I mean, where’s our tax relief?

It’s not the Brits fault. And I commend them for this invitation, and their theatrical innovation (in addition to tax relief and filmed productions, they’ve got crowdfunding legislation as well).

New York State and New York City have always had the snobbish opinion that they didn’t need to offer assistance to Producers because unlike movies, which can be shot anywhere, Broadway can only happen on Broadway.

The British are making a claim that maybe Producers would be better off if Broadway was in Great Britain.

And I’m starting to wonder if they are right.

 

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