🗣️ "BAFTA nominated actors are still five times more likely to have attended a fee paying school than the population as a whole." Great to see Lord Parkinson directly cite our research on the lack of class diversity in creative professions in a debate in the House of Lords ⬇️

Edinburgh Fringe With Spice have posted our 2025 update - a highly visual book, digital platform and ticketing giveaways for global majority audiences. Thank you all for your support including Underbelly @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social @thestage.co.uk. <3 <3 x substack.com/home/post/p-...

Edinburgh Fringe With Spice 2025 - Addressing the audience imbalance of the Edinburgh Fringe directly

An update on the book and digital platform created by LULA.XYZ - debuted at this year's Festival

substack.com

Start of new podcast series (Un)Common Ground hosted by me and Tarek Iskander. First one considers the Hodge Review into @artscouncilengland.bsky.social. Erica Whyman, Ed Vaizey and Jo Crowley discuss with gloves off vigour. bac.org.uk/podcast/

Thanks to @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social for this lovely interview for @stagedoorldn.bsky.social stagedoor.com/theatre-guid...

Cable Street: A Musical for Our Times | by Lyn Gardner on Stagedoor

Lyn Gardner interviews director Adam Lenson on the return of Cable Street to London, a show that celebrates community, courage, and the city we call home.

stagedoor.com

Lynda Rooke, president of Equity, has said that actors in subsidised theatres are now only getting half the hours they did back in 2004, a figure she called "a great concern." www.thestage.co.uk/news/news/ac... #FreelancersMakeTheatreWork

really good piece. Most careers start in smaller spaces.

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 11mo ago

What's going on with studio theatres? Since the pandemic, smaller secondary spaces have quietly declined – with dire consequences for emerging artists. Could some new openings and different approaches help buck the trend, asks @hollywilliams.bsky.social

Submissions for #TheStageAwards 2026 close at midnight tonight! Get your entries in quick to be in with a chance of winning in January. Apply now 👉https://www.thestage.co.uk/the-stage-awards/the-stage-awards

This looks good from the brilliant Eleanor Turney www.many-hats.org

Many Hats | Professional development for freelancers

Many Hats offers professional development workshops tailored for freelancers to enhance skills, stay up-tp-date, and advance careers.

many-hats.org

"a debut play is not the ugly pancake you make before you make a batch of really fluffy ones"

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 11mo ago

‘Debuts can redefine theatre and reshape the industry’ Theatre503 leaders Anthony Simpson-Pike and Emily Carewe speak to The Stage about tackling a crisis in the new-writing ecology, as Simpson-Pike announces his first season 👇

There’s cowardice at work with theatres eyeing each other to see who does and doesn’t host before they commit. But what message does that send about creative freedom when organisations act so timidly arguing what is said from a theatre’s stages has no connection to how that organisation operates?

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 11mo ago

'Artists are showing their solidarity with Gaza – so why are theatres so nervous?', writes Lyn Gardner 👇

Jeezus! at Underbelly is such fun. Deliciously irreverent.

The Stage's Lyn Gardner shines a behind-the-scenes light on Pleasance Two, the Edinburgh Fringe venue aimed at producers looking to test out new musicals or to scale up or tour their shows. Read her day in the life of... an Edinburgh Fringe venue 👇

A day in the life of... an Edinburgh Fringe venue

Pleasance Two is an attractive Edinburgh Fringe venue for producers looking to test, scale up or tour their shows. Lyn Gardner goes behind the scenes for the day

thestage.co.uk

“Starved of investment, British theatre has been cut to the bone. On the fringe, you can see the bones, and you can see them crumbling in front of your eyes.” Polished fringe shows from overseas shine an ugly light on UK arts funding, says Lyn Gardner 👇

Lyn Gardner on underfunded home-grown shows at Edinburgh Fringe

At Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the gap in financial support between overseas and home-grown companies is increasingly evident in production values, says Lyn Gardner

thestage.co.uk

Philosophy of the World, This is Not About Me, Aether all @summerhallarts.bsky.social , I Think It Could Work @zoo, Lost Lear, Red Like Fruit, A Gamblers Guide @traversetheatre.bsky.social , Bury the Hachet, City of Incurable Women, Hot Mess @pleasance.co.uk

The BoonDog Theatre Mentorship Scheme - Edinburgh 2026. www.boondogtheatre.com/mentors youtu.be/FyTJf9zoTKQ

The BoonDog Theatre Mentorship Scheme

YouTube video by BoonDog Theatre

youtu.be

Exceptional work at the @traversetheatre.bsky.social with Red Like Fruit and I'm Ready to Talk Now, both formally inventive as well as great stories.

So far @edfringe.bsky.social I have really liked Bury the Hatchet, Champions and Hot Mess, all @Pleasance venues.

The Chris Goode case isn’t about ‘genius’ culture but about theatre’s power structures and failures in safeguarding, argues Lyn Gardner 👇

Lyn Gardner on how theatre's power structures enable abuse

Chris Goode's abuses may not have resulted in a reckoning, says Lyn Gardner, but that's not entirely down to theatre being in thrall to the myth of genius

thestage.co.uk

Artistic directors are under more pressure than ever, as ethical scrutiny over sponsors like Barclays grows warns Lyn Gardner 👇

Lyn Gardner on the ethical issues surrounding arts sponsors

Barclays' sponsorship of the Donmar has left Timothy Sheader navigating an ethical minefield, and other ADs may soon have similar issues, says Lyn Gardner

thestage.co.uk

Breaking: An independent review into the last-minute cancellation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Exchange in Manchester has pointed towards “significant systemic organisational and leadership failures” at the venue 👇

Royal Exchange independent review highlights 'significant leadership failures'

Royal Exchange independent review highlights 'significant leadership failures'

thestage.co.uk

ACE’s proposed changes to its project grants may be paused for now, but that doesn’t erase fears of looming catastrophe for artists and companies, says @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social 👇

Lyn Gardner: ACE grant changes may be paused for now, but fears of looming catastrophe remain

thestage.co.uk

New piece from me @thestage.bsky.social on planned ACE changes to Project Grants and why so many fear a looming catastrophe. Some of the changes would make touring even harder and be a death sentence for non-NPO funded companies. tinyurl.com/yxm77p58

💬 Freelancers are speaking up! 📢 “Pay us on time.” 📢 “Job security.” 📢 “Close the gender pay gap.” What challenges do you face as a freelancer? Add your voice to #ShapingTheArts. 🎥 👉 Submit your video today: https://buff.ly/40OvHB0 #FreelancersMakeTheatreWork

"It doesn’t help anyone when we divide women into the childless and the mothers” @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social interviews Anna Morris for @stagedoorldn.bsky.social ahead of the Southwark Playhouse run of her show Son of a Bitch 🤬✈️👶 stagedoor.com/theatre-guid... ( @thethelmas.bsky.social )

Lyn Gardner Interviews Anna Morris Ahead of Son of a Bitch at Southwark Playhouse | by Lyn Gardner on Stagedoor

The Edinburgh Fringe First Award-winning play explores the complexities of motherhood and challenges the idealised image of parenthood

stagedoor.com

Hi all, everyone should read this because while ACE has announced a delay and consultation to their proposed changes, what was leaked about what was going to be put in place from April 1 would have been catastrophic and the end for many companies and a migraine for NPOs too.

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 2y ago

Arts Council England has backtracked on plans to overhaul National Lottery Project Grants from April, promising to conduct further consultation with the sector ahead of bringing in changes from September. 👉 www.thestage.co.uk/news/ace...

"One of the great things to come out of #LetsCreate is that everybody has had to sit up and take notice of questions around quality and accessibility". And about time too. Insightful piece from @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 2y ago

"I've always felt our work was genuinely radical, yet I was aware that because of its audience, it was beneath the notice of many in the industry" @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social meets the pioneering companies making theatre for disabled and neurodiverse audiences👇

"I've always felt our work was genuinely radical, yet I was aware that because of its audience, it was beneath the notice of many in the industry" @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social meets the pioneering companies making theatre for disabled and neurodiverse audiences👇

‘Genuinely radical’: Meet the pioneering theatremakers serving disabled and neurodiverse audiences

Demand for productions designed for autistic people and those with learning difficulties is outstripping supply. The heads of three companies pioneering these performances talk to Lyn Gardner

thestage.co.uk

Artists often fail. It is part of the job because it is only by taking a gamble and risking falling flat on their faces that they have any possibility of delivering great art.

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 2y ago

Despite what recent commentary might suggest, the West End is on the up and here’s why, writes @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social 👇 www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/igno...

And we’re off. The Women’s Prize for Playwriting is now open for submissions 🏆 Thread below:

The Women’s Prize for Playwriting@womensplayprize.bsky.social · 2y ago

The Women's Prize for Playwriting 2025 is now open for submissions until Tuesday 22nd April!🎉 @painesplough.bsky.social @concordukshows.bsky.social @ekpshows.bsky.social The First Prize is £20,000: our biggest prize fund yet.👀 Enter via our website: womensprizeforplaywriting.co.uk/how-to-enter/

Excellent article by @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social in @thestage.bsky.social “The arts are not holding out a begging bowl; they are offering a partnership to kick-start growth of many kinds and are well placed to do so.” #Theatre #TheatreSky #Culture

Lyn Gardner: Starmer’s searching for economic growth? The arts are a sure-fire bet

The Labour government will be missing a trick if they do not understand that the arts are ready and willing to make themselves useful and simultaneously bring joy and a return on investment, says Lyn ...

thestage.co.uk