Theatre Artists Fund

“Helping the theatre world stay on its feet when the curtain came down.”

When the pandemic silenced theatres across the UK, the creative community faced an uncertain future. Sir Sam Mendes joined forces with the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre to establish the Theatre Artists Fund — a new charity designed to provide urgent financial aid to freelancers and artists.

I was brought in to lead the digital product delivery, from naming and branding to designing and project-managing the website. With only days to launch, this was an exercise in fast, focused digital problem-solving.

Problem

Covid-19 shut down the theatre industry almost overnight, leaving thousands of freelancers without income or government support. When Netflix stepped forward with £500,000 to kick-start a new relief fund, there was just three weeks to turn the idea into a functioning charity — complete with brand identity, website and donation platform.

The challenge was to create a clear, credible digital presence that could communicate trust, attract donors and make it easy for theatre workers to apply for help, all under extreme time constraints.

Solution

As Digital Product Lead, I oversaw the brand creation, UX design and digital delivery from concept to launch.

Naming and Domain Strategy:
The first task was to give the charity a name and digital identity. I identified the .fund top-level domain as a unique opportunity to communicate purpose directly in the URL. The result - TheatreArtists.Fund - was concise, modern and instantly recognisable.

Brand Development:
With SOLT and UK Theatre’s visual language in mind, I created a logo inspired by bold 1980s campaign graphics. Designed in under an hour, it was simple, impactful and versatile, aligning seamlessly with the parent organisations while standing on its own across print and digital channels.

Website Design and UX:
The site needed to serve two key audiences, donors and recipients, while being easy to navigate, mobile-friendly and accessible.
I created wireframes and a sitemap in Lucidchart to streamline collaboration with the in-house developer. Guiding principles included:

• Keeping the site linear and minimal for fast navigation

• Ensuring all essential information was available from the homepage

• Designing for speed of rollout, starting with a simple awareness-holding site

• Building clear user journeys for donations and applications

This focused approach allowed the team to go live in just ten days, a testament to agile collaboration and rapid digital delivery.

Outcome

The Theatre Artists Fund launched successfully and quickly became a vital support hub for UK theatre professionals.

Impact:

• Over £9.8 million raised

• 9,964 grants issued to theatre workers

• Established a trusted digital platform for both donors and recipients

For me, this project was a masterclass in delivering under pressure — proving how clarity of design, smart decision-making and cross-team coordination can drive meaningful real-world impact.

Read the Press Releases:

• Theatre Artists Fund set up by Sam Mendes, The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre

• Theatre Artists Fund raises £1.6m to support out of work theatre practitioners in the UK

• Theatre Artists Fund raises £3.5m including a £1m contribution from Arts Council England

• Theatre Artists Fund awarded additional Arts Council funds to support theatre workers affected by Tier 3 restrictions

• Theatre Artists Fund receives a further £500k from Mackintosh Foundation

• WarnerMedia £250,000 donation to Theatre Artists Fund brings fundraising total to £7.2m

• Gatsby donation brings Theatre Artists Fund Autumn grants to £500,000

• £2 million raised in less than 48 hours for Theatre Artists Fund to support theatre freelancers facing uncertainty over the fest

• 1,670 theatre workers given emergency financial aid in latest round of Theatre Artists Fund grants