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EXCLUSIVE: Equity has voiced concerns about working conditions on Squid Game: The Experience, the live-action challenge based on the hit Netflix series.
In a statement shared with Deadline, the UK performers’ union said it had concerns that the London-based experience may have denied workers “basic employment rights” and potentially jeopardized their safety. It said members could be owed a “significant amount of money.”
Luna Entertainment Group, the Sony Music Entertainment-owned company that staged the experience, said it takes its legal obligations “very seriously” and was unaware of any safety issues.
Luna produced Squid Game: The Experience based on a license from Netflix, allowing members of the public to take on iconic Squid Game challenges like Red Light Green Light. The event was opened in May last year and shut its doors on January 4. Netflix declined to comment.
An Equity spokesperson said: “Equity has concerns that performers and stage management may have been denied basic employment rights while working on Squid Game: The Experience, whose run has now ended. This relates to performers and stage management’s worker status in law, which entitles them to paid annual leave, pension enrolment, and a written statement of employment particulars being provided.
“We are also concerned about the producer’s health and safety practices, including safeguarding measures. We would encourage those who worked on Squid Game: The Experience to get in touch with the union so that we can investigate further.”
George Wood, managing director of Luna, told Deadline: “As a responsible company, we take our legal obligations very seriously. There were no personnel engaged on Squid Game: The Experience in London as either a performer or stage management. They were engaged on a freelance/contractor basis, which enabled them to choose the shifts based on their availability and to take other work during the project’s run.
“We have not been made aware of any concerns around health and safety or safeguarding on Squid Game The Experience. Luna has operated high-profile events and experiences for over ten years and prides itself on the highest levels of health and safety and welfare.”
Luna has operated events for several notable franchises, including Friends, Wicked, and Sex and the City. Luna’s sales stood at £7.6M in the 12 months to March 31, 2024, per its most-recently filed earnings on Companies House. The company made a pre-tax loss of £1.6M over the same period.
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