The Theatrical Guild (TTG) has announced that its fundraising appeal, in partnership with Sir Ian McKellen, has raised £79,734 for out-of-work theatre workers.
Sir Ian donated £40,000 from his 80th birthday tour of theatres across the UK in 2019 to the appeal on The Good Exchange, an online fundraising platform. The remaining amount came from numerous public donations.
The funding has already helped support more than 1,000 out-of-work theatre workers since its launch in July 2020.
Last November, Sir Ian contributed to a celebrity-filled Zoom performance to raise money for workers across the UK arts sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Catherine, a Stage Manager speaking to TTG, said: “I was at rock bottom, I saw no way out, and even tried to take my life, but just having a phone call from the Guild helped, the fact that they helped me pay my rent arrears and gave me access to the Councillor was incredible.”
Roger, a Lighting Technician, added “I will be forever grateful to The Theatrical Guild for the support they have given me over the last few months, without which we would have probably lost our home and struggled to feed our children, our situation was desperate.”
The Theatrical Guild hopes to reach £100,000 by the end of May.
Donations can be made via The Good Exchange website.
Words by Millie Lockhart.
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.
Image: The Theatrical Guild