“(The seed commission) has made me feel supported, not just as an artist but also a woman of colour whose story wanted to be heard.” – Subika Anwar-Khan
In recognition of the fact that artists of colour are under-represented in contemporary theatre, from 2015-20 CPT ran a seed commission offering £750 towards supporting the production of new work.
In 2020, with generous funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Inclusive Camden Fund, we expanded that scheme to target artists of colour, D/deaf and disabled artists, and artists from working-class backgrounds.
Along with a seed commission of £750, the scheme offers the following:
- One week’s rehearsal space in-kind
- Invitation to build a network with fellow participating artists
- PR and marketing support, inclusion in brochures, website, social media activity
- Technician to support get-in, and to operate your show (please bear in mind that we anticipate scratch commissions to require minimal technical support)
- Ongoing development opportunities – CPT is keen that these commissions are the beginning of a long-term relationship with supported artists support, and we’ll do what we can to help you develop your work further
Since 2015, we have supported the following artists and projects with this seed commission:
2015
HighRise Theatre, Merryville
Caleb Femi, There is a Place
Rachael Young, Nightclubbing
2016
Testament, Woke
Seke Chimutengwende and Alexandrina Hemsley, Black Holes
Marika McKennell, Chameleon Girl
Subika Anwar-Khan, Divided
2017
Paula Varjack, The Cult of K*nzo
Tribe Arts, Nikah
Maa-Yarkor Addo, Aunty
Lynne Ekwe, Goals
Lanre Malaolu, Elephant in the Room
Mohammed Zafar, Mo from Surrey
Anna Himali Howard, Mahabharat/a
2018
Segen Yosef, Dear Daughter
Council XI, US ‘The Fight’
John Akinde, Oja (The Market)
Koko Brown, Grey
Yana Penrose, Daddy Issues
Kenton Jordan Thomas, MyMan – An Origin Story
2019
Shireen Mula, Other Guys
Nima Taleghani, Men Make Speeches
Leiran Gibson, The Clapham South Mystery
Rhys Hollis, Ladybird Boy
Natasha Brown, White Girls (Will) Kill Me
2020
Bonnie Chan and Joyce Nga Yu Lee, Last Of Our Kind
Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu, England
We have two call-outs a year; please join our mailing list or keep an eye on our opportunities page to hear about them. If you think your work is relevant to the CPT programme but falls outside of the timeline for these commissions, we’d still love to hear from you. Please contact [email protected]
