Lyric life

West London theatre companies led by ethnically diverse artists who live or work in West London are being offered an exciting new opportunity as part of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre’s new Artistic Residencies scheme launching this autumn.

The programme provides one-week of free space in the Lyric Studio, advice sessions with the Lyric team (covering areas including artistic, producing, fundraising, technical, production management or marketing), technical support and access to office resources such as printing, scanning and desk space including computer access.

Lyric Artistic Residencies are suitable for theatre companies who have an idea they want to develop and would benefit from some time in a theatrical space which could be used for various activities such as script development, rehearsals, research and development, workshops, explorations and filming. Activity can be theatre, devised work, cross art-forms but needs to have live performance at the heart of the project.

There are six week-long residencies (Monday to Friday) available in total from the week commencing 06 September 2021 to the week commencing 18 October 2021.

This opportunity is for artists who are from the African and Caribbean Diasporas, South Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, North African, Middle Eastern, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, Native American or those of ethnically mixed heritages; and theatre companies who are led by ethnically diverse artists who live or work in West London. Eligible boroughs are Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond upon Thames, Westminster and Wandsworth.

Rachel O’Riordan, Artistic Director and CEO of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre said: “The Lyric sits at the heart of a vibrant area of London and these residencies will bring new energy, thinking and joy to this theatre. When I was an emerging director, I would have valued this experience enormously and hope this scheme will allow artists the space, resources and opportunity to develop their skills in an environment that is both supportive and creatively inspiring. We look forward to building on the work we did with emerging companies during lockdown with this exciting new project.”

Nicholai La Barrie, Associate Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, said:  “Everyone has a story to tell and we want to give more people from all backgrounds the chance to tell theirs. Our Artistic Residencies scheme provides vital theatrical support and facilities for ethnically diverse theatre makers who may not have had the opportunity to develop their craft and take their work to the next level through access to space, professional guidance and resources. I and so many brilliant artists have developed their practice with the Lyric so I would encourage artists to apply for this opportunity whether this is your first encounter with us or one of many. We can’t wait to hear from you and share our space and knowledge to continue helping diverse talent from our community to thrive.”

For full details on application questions and how to apply click here.

The deadline for applications is Monday 23 August 2021at 12pm. Applications will be responded to by Friday 27 August.