Hope Theatre London given grant from Arts Council Emergency Response Fund

The Hope Theatre, Islington is being supported by a grant from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund to help the venue survive during the Covid-19 crisis.

The grant given to the Hope Theatre, London is made possible by the National Lottery and its players.

Kennedy Bloomer, the Artistic Director of the theatre since January 2020 says, ‘I’m so relieved and thrilled that the Arts Council has seen fit to support us and our work. With our long-established Equity agreement and no upfront hire fees, The Hope Theatre allows artists to create with minimal financial risk. We look forward to continuing to support new writing and productions when the Hope re-opens. In these uncertain times, it’s so important to keep working with and supporting new and emerging artists and designers.’

The Board of Solar Plexus Productions who run The Hope Theatre say ‘We are delighted and hugely grateful that the theatre has received support from ACE’s Emergency Response Fund. Thank you also to all those who have, and continue to, support The Hope.’

The Hope Theatre fast became a critically acclaimed venue on London’s Off West End after opening only six years ago. The pub theatre won a double Best Actor award for Bart Lambert and Jack Reitman in its production of Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story at the OffWestEnd awards shortly before closing in early March 2020.

Since the closure, the theatre has launched #HopeOnline – a series of digital workshops including a Q&A with Peaky Blinders co-producer Chris Ballantyne, a Creative Mindfulness Masterclass with the Different Womxn Project founded by Ariane Barnes and many more. Support the Hope Theatre here.

The multi-award-winning Hope Theatre is a place for audiences and companies to explore BIG ideas. We nurture and develop new producing models, working with exciting companies to present a mix of new writing, lost gems from well-known writers, re-polished classics and innovatively staged musicals. We are the little theatre with big ideas!

Although The Hope Theatre receives no public subsidy, it was the first Off West End venue to open with a house agreement with Equity, the UK’s largest performers union, to ensure a legal wage for all actors, stage managers and box office staff working at the theatre. As an intimate 50-seat pub theatre, The Hope has a small team made up of Artistic Director Kennedy Bloomer, part-time Associate Director Toby Hampton and part-time Technical Manager Daniel Johnson.