Hampstead Theatre Invests in New Writing

Edward Hall, Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre and Executive Producer Greg Ripley-Duggan are delighted to announce the launch of a new initiative to invest a million pounds in the commissioning of new plays. One half of the money is already raised, and commissioning has begun.

Edward Hall said "This is our investment in the future of theatre. Britain has an undisputed reputation as the source of some of the greatest writing in the world, and this financial injection of life into the commissioning landscape will support the enormous pool of talent that we enjoy. Responding to the climate of our times we have created a partnership with the generous help of the AKO Foundation to bring significant private commissioning money into the subsidised theatre sector. This will help us to continue with our ambition to find and make world-class theatre that is entertaining and original."

Since the duo took over the theatre in 2010 Hampstead has produced 55 new plays, and introduced a further 17 to the UK, watched by over half a million people. Mixing craftsmanship with entrepreneurship, this has been achieved at the same time as repaying a large inherited deficit and putting the theatre on a sound financial footing. The philosophy that has enabled this is the identifying and producing of a wide variety of plays for a broad audience, from the intellectually demanding to light entertainment - theatre for all comers.

The project has been enabled by the AKO Foundation, set up by Mr Nicolai Tangen to benefit education and the arts. They will support the commissioning of world class plays by matching funding raised by Hampstead Theatre up to £500,000.

Nicolai Tangen said "In these uncertain financial times, I am delighted that the
AKO Foundation is able to contribute to the vibrant landscape of new writing in the excellent hands of Edward Hall and Greg Ripley-Duggan, whose programming, especially when it comes to championing new work, has brought unprecedented success to the theatre. I hope that the Foundation's endowment will build on that momentum as Hampstead continues to seek and encourage fresh discovery to entertain as wide an audience as possible."

Anyone who would like to donate to the project should contact Liberty Oberlander libertyo@hampsteadtheatre.com .

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