The Actors Centre Receives Grant From Government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund

The Actors Centre, the UK's leading professional development organisation, supporting actors and creative talent throughout their careers, has today been awarded a grant as part of the Government's £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). This grant will help The Actors Centre to face the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic and help towards building a sustainable future for the organisation.

The Actors Centre is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support. £257 million of investment has been announced today as part of the very first round of the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England.

Speaking about today's announcement, The Actors Centre Chief Executive Amanda Davey said: "On behalf of everyone at The Actors Centre, I wish to express my gratitude the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, HM Treasury and Arts Council England for providing this lifeline at this most crucial time. While there remains a long and difficult journey ahead, with a lot of work to be done, we welcome today's funding announcement as the first step towards securing the organisation's future.

"Quite rightly, in recent weeks, there has been a furore about the question of viability in the cultural sector. Actors, writers, directors, producers, technicians, the list goes on. I want you to know you are all very much viable. We see you; we hear you; we thank you. However, we can all only be viable if we are allowed to work, to open. In the coming months at The Actors Centre, we look forward to supporting and continuing to work alongside the freelancers who exist as the beating heart of our sector.

"The Actors Centre, which is a registered charity, is not just a building. Since its inception in 1978, it has been a home for artists, offering a year-round programme of workshops, masterclasses and theatre. With a new senior leadership team in place, these are the discussions we have been having since our closure in March. While this has been an inexorably difficult period for the entire cultural sector and at The Actors Centre, we have worked hard to deliver a consistent digital workshop and theatre programme since our closure in March.

"This grant does not mean that we are out of the woods, nor is it a time for complacency. The work continues, it accelerates, and we continue to do everything in our power to build a sustainable future for The Actors Centre."

Today's funding announcement follows on from the world premiere of Gemma Lawrence's Sunnymead Court, presented by Defibrillator in association with The Actors Centre, which marked the first socially distanced theatre production back in the West End in over six months. Playing to sold-out audiences and widespread critical acclaim in The Actors Centre's flagship venue, The Tristan Bates Theatre, the play which was produced under the most extraordinary circumstances reminded us of the tenacity of theatre and this will fuel our vision for the future; giving us the strength to move forward and fight harder than ever before.

While The Actors Centre remains closed for 2020, our online programmes will continue during this period, with further announcements about our digital offerings to come in the proceeding weeks. Our fundraising appeal will continue throughout this time and we would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has bought a workshop space or purchased a theatre ticket to help support The Actors Centre during the pandemic. Your kindness means more than words can ever express and we hope to see you all in-person at The Actors Centre in 2021.

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