A consortium of 14 London theatres has announced it will begin to take on apprentices in 2017. The group, which comprises Battersea Arts Centre, the Donmar Warehouse and the Royal Court among others, will build on its investment of £800,000 over the past three years by offering a further 12 apprenticeships in a variety of off-stage roles, including administration, wardrobe and technical theatre during 2017.
Encouragingly, the consortium reported that that 62% of those who have taken part in apprenticeships so far have been from non-white backgrounds, and that 27% have had a disability.
‘Committed to working together’
The scheme is run out of the Lyric Hammersmith, where executive director Sian Alexander said: “I don’t think the London theatres could have embraced apprenticeships on the scale that they have, and with the success they have, if it hadn’t been for that collaborative approach, as part of the London Theatre Consortium.”
She added: “Although the funding climate makes it harder now, we are committed to continuing to work together to maintain the momentum we have achieved and to create open and accessible opportunities for talented young people from all backgrounds in our theatres.”
