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NOTE: every £1 donated is matched by Arts Council England (ACE) - so any donation you make will be doubled. That means if I raise £500, ACE give us another £500. Bingo: that's a grand!
The Yard does amazing work supporting artists and local residents (especially children and young people) to make life-changing theatre in our corner of East London.
We were only meant to be around for 3 months, but 6 years later, we've:
- Transformed a volunteer-built temporary space into a "key cultural anchor" (LLDC) and "the most important theatre in East London" (Time Out)
- Discovered artists like Michaela Coel, a 19 year old Hackney resident whose 'Chewing Gum Dreams' first played at The Yard, leading to a National Theatre transfer and E4 television series
- Welcomed nearly 6,000 people to Hub67, the local community centre we've been managing since 2016, to take part in free arts-based activities. Over 50% of these people were under 18.
- Worked with over 15 local community centre, running free workshops and offering free show tickets for children in exchange for rehearsal space
- Partnered leading theatres including National Theatre (first Associate Company in 2013), Royal Court and Young Vic
To help the The Yard reach its annual fundraising targets, I'm cycling 120 miles from London Fields to Dunwich on the 8th of July (three days after my 30th birthday - no hangovers, I promise)!
I'll be cycling with my good friend Ben, setting off at 8 o'clock in the evening and pedalling for 12 hours through the night down some lovely country lanes with nearly 1,000 other cycling nuts. We'll get to Dunwich about 8 o'clock the next morning, at which point we will jump in the sea and go have a well-earned fry-up.
Please give whatever you can to my cycling adventure, knowing it will be matched pound for pound by Arts Council England, will go towards artists and local young people to make art that brings people together, and creates opportunities that will shape the future of theatre.