35 arts venues receive more than £1 million each in new Cultural Recovery Fund grants

Thirty-five major arts venues across England have received grants of between £1 million and £3 million in the latest batch of Cultural Recovery Fund announcements.

Among the organisations are English National Ballet, Sadler's Wells and the Old Vic in London.

The higher tier of grants is for larger organisations that needed more than £1 million but less than the loans (starting value £3 million) being offered for even bigger organisations.

In response to the announcement, Old Vic actor Andrew Scott said: "Today's announcement is a hugely exciting and positive step forward in helping the Old Vic survive and thrive. Over its 200-year lifetime, hundreds of thousands of performers, creatives, technical crews, back-of-house teams and everyone else in-between have worked together to make The Old Vic the cultural icon it is today.

"To have been a part of the In Camera series during the theatre's closure, and to have seen first-hand how hard everyone is working to support others and keep the organisation alive, has been a real privilege and I wish everybody luck as they work to rebuild a theatre that we all love so much."

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: "As part of our unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue fund, today we're saving British cultural icons with large grants of up to £3 million – from Shakespeare's Globe to the Sheffield Crucible. These places and organisations are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are. This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away."

While further protection of jobs may be secure, dozens of organisations (including a number on the list today) have already been forced to make redundancies to stay afloat throughout 2020.

Birmingham Rep board member and creative Adrian Lester said: "The REP was one of the main reasons I applied to drama school. It was the first theatre I visited as a child and the first theatre I ever performed in. Without it, my life may have taken a completely different course.

"The impact The REP has goes far beyond the economic contribution it makes to my home city – it is an essential and vital pathway for aspiring talent and for creating truly world class productions – and for welcoming back that talent when it has flowered. This wonderful news ensures that this historic, pioneering theatre – now under the exciting new leadership of artistic director Sean Foley and executive director Rachael Thomas – will be there to inspire and entertain again when it is possible to return to full production."

Award-winning writer Lolita Chakrabarti said: "Sheffield Theatres are at the heart of the city, offering outstanding and wide reaching work made by a diverse community of freelance practitioners. They are an essential local resource and, in a normal year, sell almost 400,000 tickets a year to over 750 performances.

"Their theatres offer so many excellent opportunities to bring people together for entertainment and engagement. Life of Pi was lucky enough to premiere at the Crucible last year. I can't wait until they open their doors again and look forward to going back soon to experience their next live performances."

A full list of organisations receiving grants is below:

Adlib Audio Limited – £1,650,356
BH Live – £2,499,531
Bill Kenwright Limited – £1,526,028
Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust – £3,000,000
Birmingham Museums Trust – £1,872,750
Birmingham Repertory Theatre – £1,380,023
Black Country Living Museum Trust – £2,559,805
Design Museum – £2,968,634
Dulwich Picture Gallery – £1,357,823
English National Ballet – £3,000,000
Exchange Events Ltd (Gandey Productions) – £1,092,503
Fabric Life Ltd – £1,514,262
Hull City Council – £1,615,725
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust – £1,860,000
Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House Ltd – £1,545,163
Leeds Theatre Trust Limited (Playhouse) – £2,381,547
Lights Control Rigging Productions Ltd – £1,076,179
London Transport Museum – £1,750,000
Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust – £3,000,000
North Music Trust (Sage Gateshead) – £1,800,000
Northampton Theatres Trust (Royal & Derngate) – £2,112,891
Norwich Theatre – £3,000,000
Performances Birmingham Limited – £2,534,675
Rambert – £1,283,835
Royal Exchange Theatre Company Ltd – £2,854,444
Sadler's Wells – £2,975,000
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust – £3,000,000
Shakespeare's Globe – £2,985,707
Sheffield Theatres Trust Ltd – £2,246,000
The ACC Liverpool Group Limited – £2,972,659
The Mayflower Theatre Trust – £3,000,000
The Octagon Theatre Trust – £620,232
The Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000 – £3,000,000
Theatre Royal (Plymouth) Ltd £1,896,000
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre 1982 LTD £1,187,530