The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation awards between twenty and thirty grants each year to smaller scale professional theatre projects based in London. There are two rounds of funding, with deadlines in February and August.
The Foundation has two major aims: to help professional productions in need of financial support and to introduce high-quality live performance to groups who are not traditional or regular theatregoers.
Examples of recent grants include those to the Lyric Theatre towards Schools Girls; or The African Mean Girls’ Play in June 2023, to Crying Out Loud towards The Taroo Collective in summer 2023, to Frisky Arts towards The War Inside, to Lung Theatre towards Woodhill, to Theatre Rites towards Zoe’s Peculiar Journey Through Time in September 2023, to Jessie Anand Productions towards Antisemitism, to Battersea Arts Centre towards Pied Piper in October 2023, to Half Moon Theatre towards Hot Orange, to Little Angel Theatre towards Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book, to the National Youth Theatre towards Ada, to Pleasance Theatre towards Future Festival, to Theatre 503 towards A Woman Walks into a Bank, to Wilton’s Music Hall towards Potted Panto in November 2023, to Jacksons Lane towards The Three Billy Goats Gruff in December 2023, to Happy Days to take underprivileged children to the theatre, and to the Royal Court Theatre towards their Open Court strategy for young people and community groups.
The Foundation also funds the Lilian Baylis Awards for promising students who attend the accredited drama schools in London. The grants are made at the end of the students’ second year to ease the financial pressures in their final year of study. Each student is recommended for an award by their drama school. We are sorry but this scheme is not open to general applicants. Please note that we do not make grants to individuals for drama training.
The Foundation is funded from the invested proceeds of the sale of The Old Vic Theatre in 1982 plus subsequent gifts and bequests. It has existed as a charity since 1891 and still owns the Theatre’s archives from 1818-1963, which are housed at The University of Bristol Theatre Collection.
The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation is committed to supporting and championing work that represents diverse people and perspectives, challenges bias and inequality (historical, systemic and cultural), and is inclusive and accessible for artists/producers and audiences.
To enable this, we strive to maintain a diverse and inclusive Board of Trustees; in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age, ability, religion/belief and LGBTQI+ identities.
Royal Victoria Hall Foundation 