As a group of theatre-makers, we came together at a time when a lot of crucial support for the arts was disappearing. Places like the Actors Centre and the Poor School, which for years had been lifelines for creatives and improved access to the industry for people from less privileged backgrounds. 

Many of us had either trained or worked abroad — in places like France, Finland, and Romania — which have more sustainable structures in place for artists that not only encourage more people to take part, but also ensure the work is of a consistently high quality. And these structures aren’t complicated; it's about having enough time and space, being paid equitably, and working in environments that feel safe and accessible. But here in the UK, because so much of the industry is freelance and arts investment isn’t always valued, these basics are usually the first thing to get overlooked. A recent report from Campaign for the Arts and the University of Warwick found that the UK now has one of the lowest levels of government spending on culture among European nations.

When the pandemic hit, we saw a huge number of freelancers leaving the industry altogether — artists whose talents and stories we are worse off without. That's when we thought: why not try to fill that resource gap ourselves? So, we set up SCRUM to create a resource that would a) help us to make our best work, b) support other artists in developing their craft, and c) foster the next generation of creatives, particularly in communities and demographics that are currently underserved. The first step was clear: we needed a physical space where the work could happen, and we built from there.

For a while we had been moving in and out of ‘meanwhile’ spaces — churches, village halls, abandoned cafes – until we began working with Theatre Deli, which does amazing work in providing subsidised space for artists. Their support has been absolutely invaluable, helping to connect us with property providers who arrange to put charities in empty commercial spaces. This current space on Talgarth Road was made possible by the amazing Hammond and Associates. Thanks to them, a week before Christmas the opportunity pretty much landed on our laps, so we had to take it!

It takes many communities to build a community arts hub. The current state of SCRUM Studios has only been made possible thanks to the help of friends, family, volunteers, and charitable partners who have generously donated their time, skills and furniture.

This list includes:

• Nick Hern Books

• Crown Workspace

• Hammersmith BID

• Works4U

• TodayTix

• Yes Colours

• Martyna Bielecka and Will Dawkins, our mural painters

• Murugiah, who has kindly donated artwork and with whom we and Compass Collective are collaborating with on a mural

• Theatre Deli

• Esta Charkham who very generously donated more books to our Nick Hern Library

The new building will enable us to expand both our artistic and educational output in London, before we take it on tour to regions of the UK that are underserved by arts funding.

Artistic:

• We will be making our first production in the space, Twelfth Night

Educational:

• Training workshops

• Schools programmes

The building will also create a vital, nurturing home for both new and established artists, offering access to high-quality space at a significantly low cost, becoming an experimental space for rough-and-ready theatre to be made. 

• 3 rehearsal studios named after three of our heroes from theatre history — Sarah Bernhardt, Federico Lorca and Ira Aldridge, complete with murals.

• A designers’ workroom

• A co-working space for playwrights we’re calling The Scrummage

• A self-tape studio

• A script library donated by Nick Hern Books.

• The warehouse will be a 250-seat theatre

We’re very aware of the responsibility we have to the artistic and local communities and we don’t want to be the arbiters of what’s possible — we want to be constantly improving and serving the people’s needs on the ground, and we’re looking forward to hearing how the building’s received. Ultimately, we hope it does a small part in helping to ensure that theatre artists and audiences are better valued in our culture.

Yes! We'll be able to announce our Autumn/Winter season of workshops very soon. To hear more, we'd recommend signing up to our mailing list. All programming, events and offers are posted on there first.

Thank you to every participant of the last season who answered our survey. Your responses have been guiding our programming for this coming season. We're very excited to share the line-up with you!