Cameron Mackintosh donates a further £500k to the Theatre Artists Fund

It has been confirmed today that the Cameron Mackintosh Foundation has contributed a further £500,000 in additional support to the Theatre Artists Fund, bringing the amount that the Foundation has donated in excess of £1m to The Theatre Artists Fund and other theatrical causes.

Created last July by director Sam Mendes, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, the Theatre Artists Fund provides emergency financial aid to the freelancers who make up an estimated 70% of the theatre sector, many of whom have received no Government support. 

Cameron Mackintosh said: “Though the Government’s exemplary vaccine programme has shown that there is now light at the end of the tunnel, the probability is that it will still be over seven months before the West End has the majority of its major shows back. This latest grant from my Foundation, a year after our industry was closed down, will hopefully help some of our hard-hit freelancers to get through until we can employ them again, provided there are no further shutdowns which would be catastrophic.

“My theatre and production companies have also during this last year supported hundreds of jobs throughout the closure of our theatres and productions, to ensure that our historic buildings and world-renowned productions are ready to come back, as soon as we have a permanent instruction from the Government to do so.

“The resilience and spirit of everyone working in the theatre during this gruelling time has been quite inspirational, as has the amazing patience and enthusiastic support of the public who continue to book seats, demonstrating that they can’t wait to come back to live theatre as soon as they can.”

The year anniversary of UK theatre closures last week triggered a surge of donations from organisations and members of the public, after theatre makers and performers took to social media to raise awareness of the fund.

The latest round of Theatre Artists Fund grant applications is currently open until 30 March, with more information available here.