Artsdepot Reveals 10th Annual 2025/26 Artist Residency Programme

Artsdepot welcomes nine artists and companies to its 10th annual 2025/26 Artist Residency Programme, running throughout autumn 2025 and summer 2026.

Selected from a fresh pool of local, London and UK-wide applicants, artists represent a range of disciplines and career stages, each bringing bold new ideas to develop and appeal to a diverse mix of audiences, with opportunities to share their work.

Throughout the programme, they will receive up to four weeks of rehearsal space in artsdepot's Creation Space, £1,000 in seed funding, tailored mentorship and access to professional development workshops. As members of artsdepot's artist alumni network, they will also benefit from continued connections and support to help their projects thrive beyond the residency.

This year, four of the artists will receive sponsorship from Tsitsit, the Jewish Fringe Festival, which also encourages and commissions new work in music, dance, comedy and spoken word to help "grow a network of artists exploring their Jew-ish-ness" through the arts.

Welcoming the artists - the full list is announced as:

1. Creative trio Rosamund Gravelle, an English playwright, poet and producer; Emma Copland, a Scottish theatre director and maker Shaun Blaney, a Northern Irish actor and writer will focus on developing a new work about the complexities of masculinity and dangerous leaders, inspired by the enigmatic survivor of Macbeth, "Ross"

2. Renu Arora will develop a new digitally immersive musical theatre piece from musical memoir 'The Burgundy Book', inspired by Renu's life-changing accident and near-death experience after being hit by a bus, becoming disabled and using a wheelchair, in collaboration with Royal Shakespeare Director, Erica Whyman

3. Seagull productions is a duo of London-based actors and writers, Lucy Havard and Conor Dumbrell. The LAMDA alumni plan to adapt their audio drama 'Wood Wide Web' into a theatre show for young audiences, with a story that takes place deep under the forest floor - an underground call centre - operated by mushrooms that pass messages from tree to tree, day and night

4. Lilit Lesser, an actor (Wolf Hall, The Mirror and The Light), writer, translator and cabaret artist, will develop their award-nominated work-in-progress, LILIT, described by Lilit as a cross-form cataclysm of cabaret, ritual, video, live sound and song, that reanimates the Jewish demon Lilith to reclaim incantations made to exile 'othered' entities, be they demons, Jewish, Queer or Disabled bodies

5. Farrell Cox is a theatremaker and physical performer who aims to create joyous and playful work centering on marginalised communities. Farrell is working on a show for young audiences called "Don't yuck my yum", an original story inspired by her Jamaican grandparents and the memories of being in their garden, full of vibrant produce

6. Armstrong and Lipski blend the backgrounds of Will Armstrong and Daniel Lipton, which span cabaret and theatre making and filmmaking expertise to create live shows inspired by off-kilter comedy. Their most recent work stems from the sensationalism of haunted objects, tied in thematically with exploiting cultural history and their own relationship to their heritage

7. Anna Sanderson is a British-Ukrainian theatre director, choreographer and musician. Recently graduating with a BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge, her theatre projects and academic research have focused on cultural heritage, historical memory and giving voice to marginalised communities in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine. Anna will be developing Stempenyu, an early 20th century Yiddish play by Sholem Aleichem about the romance between Stempenyu, "the Jewish Paganini", and Rachel, the Shtetl girl.

8. Nick Cassenbaum is a playwright who describes his work as "unforgivingly Jewish and undeniably British", with direction and dramaturgy by Emma Jude Harris. Nick will be developing his play, REBELLION: After the B'nei Mitzvahs, informed by interviews with people who, as Jewish teenagers, experienced Summer Camps that offered a host of new things: being away from their parents for more than 12 hours for the first time, snogging for the first time, and a taste of freedom. This is their second collaboration since the Fringe First-winning, sell-out show REVENGE: After the Levoyah.

9. John Livesey is a writer, director and dramaturg interested in making inter-disciplinary work that is both politically and aesthetically bold. He most recently worked on 'Tending', which premiered at Edinburgh Festival in 2024 and had a regional tour in Spring this year. During his residency, John will be working on "FAGCENT" an original play investigating the phenomenon of the 'gay voice', mixing verbatim theatre, live cinema, lip-syncing and sign language.

The artists supported by Tsitsit are Lilit Lesser, Armstrong and Lipski, Anna Sanderson and Nick Cassenbaum.

Monique Deletant, CEO/Creative Director of artsdepot, says: "We are grateful to all artists and companies who applied to be part of this year's intake. Choosing the shortlist was very difficult as the standard and breadth of ideas were not only brilliant but also highlighted to us that creative inspiration is thriving.

"We are grateful for support from Tsitsit, and we welcome artists spanning local, London-based and international cultural identities and experiences. Themes this year include families, the environment, life and death and cultural heritage.

"We are also committed to being 'a home in London' for artists outside of London who could benefit from developing their work and networks with us as Barnet's go-to cultural hub.

"What sets us apart is that we want artists to enjoy the process of creativity without the pressure of generating an output, which we believe ultimately generates more authentic, challenging and new work. I can't wait to see how work develops."

Alastair Falk, founder and Director of Tsitsit, says: "We are proud to support four exciting artists this year at artsdepot, who offer dynamic new creative responses to new Jewish identities.

"Tsitsit was founded as a platform to provide an outlet for exploration and expression of these unique perspectives.

"Through working in partnership with artsdepot and commissioning fresh work, we can nurture emerging talent across music, dance, comedy, and spoken word.

"Together, we can create a wider conversation about our Jewish identities, celebrate the diversity within our communities and act as a cultural bridge between Jewish and other contemporary diaspora cultures."

For more information on shows, events, workshops and programmes, visit artsdepot.co.uk