Volunteer actors rail against Jeff Bezos private performance of 'You Me Bum Bum Train'

Actors from the large volunteer cast of the UK viral sensation play ‘You Me Bum Bum Train’ have sent a letter to creators saying they were “horrified” that they had to perform in front of the billionaire and his family with no notice.

‘You Me Bum Bum Train’ was created in 2004 by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd. Now showing annually in a West End theatre in London, it has gained a mysterious reputation within the theatre world. Its £100 (€117) tickets sell out almost instantly via ballot.

Each showing allows 77 audience members into a perplexing experience run by a huge cast of volunteer actors. All involved are sworn to secrecy over the contents of the show through non-disclosure agreements. Despite being impossible to say what happens, reviews have been unanimously in awe of its unique brilliance.

These volunteer actors have now raised their concerns about the show’s creators Bond and Lloyd staging private performances of ‘You Me Bum Bum Train’ for wealthy guests.

Three of these actors expressed their concerns over performing to “potentially contentious individuals” in a letter to the creators that has been circling London’s theatre industry. On 28 March, the company performed with short notice to Bezos, his partner Lauren Sánchez and other family members.

The letter outlines the volunteers’ displeasure at “being put in a room with someone who is working to support the destabilisation of US democracy”.

Each of the evening’s 77 audience members take part in the theatre experience one at a time and are in close quarters with the performers. Ahead of performances, the actors are read a notice of the evening’s audience members so they can opt out if they know someone.

Volunteers working the night Bezos and his entourage came said they were given so little time to consider whether they were willing to perform for the tech billionaire, they felt they had to. Performers and audience members are able to stop the production at any moment.

“I wholly support the making of bold and daring art, and I’m really glad that ‘YMBBT’ has given so many passengers and volunteers a ‘life-changing experience’,” the volunteer said. “But the organisers owe us some respect and a sense of safety, and they let us down here.”

Joshua Kushner, venture capitalist and brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has also recently been in attendance, stirring displeasure within the company.

The letter asks that performers are able to “raise concerns about potentially contentious individuals who may be coming to the show as a passenger”. It also asks for clarity on one guest proposing a £50,000 (€58,400) gift by a guest who wanted to tip each performer £100 (€117).

In response to the controversy, Bond and Lloyd emailed the volunteer team of actors four days later. “Bum Bum Train is built on empathy. We’ve seen how experiencing the show can affect meaningful change, even in the most unlikely passengers.” They added they wanted to keep the “experience open to everyone — even when it features high-profile figures”.

Although Bond and Lloyd spent the first decade of the show’s running making very little money, its increased success in the past decade has allowed them to take a wage, alongside 20 production staff.

‘YMBBT’s volunteer cast has been a source of controversy already with actors union Equity criticising a £150,000 (€175,000) Arts Council England fund in 2015 when the actors are not paid at all, let alone in line with their union’s minimum requirements for West End shows.

Producers have publicly responded: “‘You Me Bum Bum Train’ never discloses information about its passengers. The production receives no Arts Council or private funding. It is made possible through ticket sales alone, a portion of which are allocated as private nights and patron tickets in order to offset the cost of the public tickets — a fact You Me Bum Bum Train openly communicates to the public, press and any volunteers who choose to donate their time to making the show happen. Additionally, You Me Bum Bum Train remains transparent about how any passenger donations are used, as and when they are received.”

Lloyd has said that if the actors were paid, each ticket would cost £6,000 (€7,000) and that the volunteers find the experience rewarding.