TikTok and Evening Standard launch £120,000 fund for future theatre talent

The empty interior of the new Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, England (Getty Images)
The empty interior of the new Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, England (Getty Images)

The Evening Standard and the video sharing app TikTok have announced a new £120,000 fund to support upcoming theatre talent.

The Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund in association with TikTok and in partnership with the National Youth Theatre is being launched in response to the ongoing financial hardship facing the theatre industry amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Each of the 12 young recipients of the fund will receive £10,000, as well as mentoring to help their theatrical careers progress.

Allocation of the grants will be determined by a panel which includes musical theatre giant Andrew Lloyd Webber, Young Vic boss Kwame Kwei-Armah and actor Helen McCrory.

Ten of the grants will go to recent graduates from the UK’s top drama schools and nominees from theatrical programmes across different disciplines, while the final two candidates will receive Future Theatre Fund TikTok Breakout awards.

Those wishing to apply for the TikTok Breakout Award can submit entries on the TikTok app itself, using #TikTokBreakoutStar, which goes live today.

“These are the young people without support just leaving college or just starting out, who are treading water until theatres, studios and galleries reopen. These prizes of £10,000 each will be an absolute lifeline. Good luck to all the entries.”

You can find more information about the scheme here.

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