Olivia Colman and Phoebe Waller-Bridge launch new fund to support theatre artists displaced by pandemic

A brand new support fund has been launched by Olivia Colman and Phoebe Waller-Bridge to support artists displaced during the pandemic.

The Theatre Community Fund, conceived by Waller-Bridge, Colman and producer Francesca Moody, will help those in need both during the current pandemic and afterwards, when opportunities and funding remain sparse. It will be dispersed and monitored by The Royal Theatrical Fund (RTF) in partnership with the Fleabag Support Fund (FSF).

Thus far £500,000 has been raised for the scheme, with an additional £500,000 in pledges from founder donations (for a total of £1million). This will be given out in grants of up to £3000. Donors aiding the scheme will be doing so by providing an initial lump sum and fixed, confidential percentages of their incomes over the next two years.

Those who have aided the initiative include:

Gillian Anderson
Jesse Armstrong
Tim Bevan
Hugh Bonneville
Stephen Boxer
Danny Boyle
Jim Carter
Emilia Clarke
James Corden
Stephen Daldry
Arthur Darvill
Shaun Dooley
Anne-Marie Duff
Jane Featherstone
Eric Fellner
Tania Franks
Emma Freud and Richard Curtis
Romola Garai
Rebecca Hall
David Hare
David Harewood
Kit Harrington
Jonathan Harvey
Keeley Hawes
Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hollander
Tony Hopkirk
Suranne Jones
Katherine Kelly
Robert Lindsay
Lucy Lumsden
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
James McAvoy
Matthew McFadyen
Ian McKellen, Sean Mathias and ATG Productions from funds raised by Ian McKellen On Stage
David Morrissey
Josh O'Connor
Al Petrie
Daniel Radcliffe
Daisy Ridley
Andrew Scott
Imelda Staunton
Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar
Russell T Davies
Emma Thompson
Harriet Walter
Rachel Weisz
Jodie Whittaker and Christian Contreras
David Yates