Making room for new writing – how new scheme supported by Phoebe Waller-Bridge means your home can change the future of British theatre

Supporting a new playwright doesn’t just mean commissioning their work or giving them access to development – though that is certainly appreciated. It’s also about giving them a place to sleep so they can actually make it to the meetings that might get them there.

London’s housing crisis is also a crisis for playwrights and a crisis for the future of new writing. With an estimated 65 per cent of theatre jobs in London, the capital remains an unavoidable destination for those hoping to establish a career in the industry, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. But Sofie Mason and Diana Jervis-Read – the minds behind the Offies and the Adopt a Playwright Award – have come up with a new solution. The pair run Writers’ Block in partnership with Omnibus Theatre; it is a new scheme which pairs playwrights with homeowners willing to rent out a spare room at reduced rates. 

The idea came after Mason noticed that 40 per cent of the winners of their awards were based outside of London, with many using their prize money on accommodation rather than developing their craft. She said: “What has become crystal clear is that they want long-term [accommodation].” Their network of hosts, known as Omnihosts, offers accommodation for no more than £30 a night or £500 a month, estimated as enough to cover costs rather than making a profit.

The initiative, which is backed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jack Thorne, James Graham and more, helps ease the purse-strings and relieves stress, allowing more time for connections to be forged. “It’s almost like you’re doing a degree,” Mason adds. But unlike a degree, there is no financial aid. “You need two to three years in London to establish your career, to get your networks together, to talk to all the right artistic directors. And then you can go back to far more affordable parts of the UK.”

The housing crisis isn’t exclusive to London by any stretch of the imagination, but there is potential in this sort of structure nationwide. The partnership with Omnibus Theatre, which provides reduced rates on rehearsal spaces plus a free hub with refreshments for playwrights to use, was forged after they emailed out to their regular audiences asking for rooms.

Writers’ Block manages the process, vetting all sign-ups to ensure it’s suitable, and is on hand throughout the tenancy. They are also eager to share their findings. “Every theatre could have their own network of little rooms and flats and so on,” Mason suggests. So far, they have 15 London homes, including an entire flat funded by Waller-Bridge (which is booked out to 2030) and have had 12 writers, from Middlesbrough, East Anglia and beyond, involved in the pilot scheme.

For many playwrights, the reality is a cycle of zero-hour contracts and low-paid work to simply keep a roof over their heads. The more they spend on rent, the more they have to work to afford it, which gives them less time to write.

Among the 55 playwrights that Writers’ Block has worked with is Ryan Calais Cameron, who understands the damage financial uncertainty brings: “Constant worry about paying the rent can kill creativity. A scheme like this is essential for the survival of emerging playwrights in today’s climate, and it deserves to be endorsed and replicated.”

Financial security buys something that, ironically, money can’t: time. With it, writing can really fly.

While aiding playwrights through a financial crisis, the pairings can also help eliminate the loneliness crisis. Mason herself knows firsthand how mutually beneficial taking part can be. A winner of the Adopt a Playwright Award was residing in a house share in London when it fell apart with rent being pushed up. He asked Mason for help finding somewhere to stay and ended up living with her for nine years. She laughs: “I say to all these homeowners, I know exactly what it’s like. You’re nervous at the beginning, but writers are ideal tenants; they are usually lovely, gentle people, and there are so many ideas in their heads that they make fantastic conversationalists. Everyone will be surprised by that reciprocal relationship.” Additionally, another winning writer, Emma Louise Howell, has moved in with supporter Alan Turkington.

We talk a lot about supporting new writing, but what about supporting the person doing the writing? If writers have to be in London to get a leg up in the industry, then we – as theatre lovers – have to help them stay.

For those interested in the scheme, please email [email protected]