Arts Council England announces ‘repayable grant’ assistance for touring shows

Arts Council England has confirmed a further £2.5 million in repayable grants for 15 touring theatre and dance productions as part of its Incentivising Touring pilot.

The scheme, launched in November 2024, supports touring work and reduces the financial barriers that can limit mid and large-scale productions.

This latest investment follows the first round of eight awards totalling £1.9 million, which supported producers including Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre with Fiddler on the Roof, Eleanor Lloyd Productions with Sylvia and Emma Rice Company with Malory Towers.

The tours supported in this second round are expected to reach around 1.4 million people across 103 venues. The Arts Council estimates that 97 per cent of people in England will be within an hour’s travel of a venue hosting one of the funded productions.

Projects receiving support include Barnum from Bill Kenwright Ltd, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold from Chichester Festival Theatre with Second Half Productions, The Ink Factory and Melting Pot, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from Melting Pot/CI Play Ltd with Birmingham Rep, Brainiac Live from Dan Colman Creative, Pride & Prejudice (Sort of) from David Pugh Ltd, Thespians from HOME in Manchester with Mischief and Mercury Theatre Colchester, Patel’s Millions 2 from Madraj Ltd, Operation Mincemeat from Avalon (Picture the Scene Ltd) and The Gangs of New York from Storyhouse.

Further investment has been offered to Birmingham Royal Ballet with NGM and Phil McIntyre Entertainment, Marlowe Theatre Productions, Puddle Productions with Wiltshire Creative, ROYO with Future Artists Entertainment, Curve and the Lowry, Theatre Royal Bath and Eleanor Lloyd Theatrical Productions with Sheffield Theatres and Eilene Davidson Productions, with touring details to follow.

As the Arts Council’s first repayable grant programme, Incentivising Touring is designed to lessen the financial risk associated with taking shows on the road while encouraging producers, boards and investors to back new touring work. Should a supported production become commercially successful, the investment will be returned to the Arts Council and used to support further tours.

Across both rounds of the pilot, £4.5 million has now been invested in 23 productions, with the potential to reach more than 2.3 million people. Further rounds are expected in early 2026 as the scheme continues to evolve based on feedback from the sector.

The Incentivising Touring pilot sits alongside the Arts Council’s other support for touring, including around £24 million a year invested through National Lottery Project Grants and other funds.