West End, Broadway: is there really a pay gap?

There is maybe not any truly meaningful discussion on this subject, but there is at least some opinionated chatter, about the differences in basic rates of pay between the West End and Broadway.

To be honest, I don't think it's as easy as just looking at the weekly pay check and calculating the currency conversion. All countries offer different costs of living and so does each city.

There is, though, something to be said about how Broadway is very much seen as the place you reach at the pinnacle of your career in America, perhaps even the world, and it is clearly paid accordingly. Whereas the West End these days seems to be slipping, or perhaps already has, to becoming less of the place you reach after years of experience and success, and maybe more of just one of the places you can work around the UK.

Some would argue that with less of a pay discrepancy between London, touring, and some regional theatre it makes for a more level playing field in the UK. Surely this means more opportunities and therefore more work?

Well I guess to an extent that’s true, but when there is less of an incentive to work in the West End where do performers and technical staff go when they want to work on great, financially rewarding shows?

Certainly in the Automation field, the answer isn’t necessarily London.