Dear supporters.

Last week we reached the point where our petition got to be two years old. Our first signatory was on the 18th of November 2022 and the latest was today. Thank you all for your support over this time and for helping us to reach 5557 signatures so far.

Your support is invaluable, and we know you must be interested in seeing how the campaign is going to restore ongoing professional training for actors to The Actors Centre.

A few key events over the period include:

In April this year we held a public meeting, co-hosted with Equity, to gather feedback to pass on to the trustees. Seven Dials Playhouse had told us before the meeting that they wanted to hear this feedback but, when we offered to share it, they made it clear they were only interested in feedback that was in line with their business model and vision.

Along with the grateful support of Equity and its 55,000 members we have had messages of support from Dame Judi Dench, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Simon Callow CBE, Sir Mark Rylance, Dame Harriet Walter, Giles Terera MBE and Actors Centre founder Dame Sheila Hancock and many others across the profession. This shows the level  of anger at the actions of Seven Dials Playhouse.

Seven Dials Playhouse have now sold their lease for 15 years in return for £4.2 million to an investor. Seven Dials Playhouse will have to pay at least £300,000 a year to remain in the building over that time. The lease, which was given to the Actors Centre when it was first set up, is at a peppercorn rent, so we are amiss to understand how such a leap in rental costs could be seen as a credible decision. This sale does not affect our core aim to return training to the building and we continue to push for that.

The Charity Commission has been inquiring into the actions of the charity and the trustees to determine if the actions taken align with aims of the charity as set out in their governing documents. That inquiry is ongoing but we are in contact with the Commission regularly.

Seven Dials Playhouse also avoided submitting their accounts in June this year and extended their reporting period from June 2023 to September 2023 with the accounts due in the next few weeks. This is frustrating for us as it prevents us from seeing exactly what the organisation, under the leadership of Amanda Davey, has done since March 2022 until September 2023. That’s a long time between reporting and we are troubled by that and how it may interfere with returning ongoing training for actors back to the building.

So, you can see that things are not over. We are still pushing to get training back into the building that was set up by actors and for actors. Your support has been brilliant, and we hope to bring positive news to you as soon as it is possible. In the meantime, we ask that you keep sharing the petition, it really does make a difference.

If you are on social media, then please do follow us to see what we are doing on this important issue. We are to be found on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, just search for ActorAtTheCentre.

Thank you all once again.

The Actor At The Centre Campaign Team

Email - info@actoratthecentre.com