About STAMP (Supporting Theatre Artists & Makers of Performance)
Some definitions / descriptions
What we do
Connecting with us
Active members of STAMP
Keep in Touch
About STAMP (Supporting Theatre Artists & Makers of Performance)

STAMP is a group of venues and organisations based in London who support and produce new theatre and performance work. We currently have 50 active member organisations.

STAMP's mission is practical collective action to improve the ways in which artists are supported by our organisations and the industry, and are valued in society more widely.

The next STAMP Connects will be taking place on Wednesday 7 February 2024 at Shoreditch Town Hall. To find out more and to book tickets, click here.

www.stamplondon.org

Check out this video of the third STAMP Connects event at Shoreditch Town Hall, from February 2020 (credit: Rosie Powell):

Some definitions / descriptions

Our organisations talk about artists and work in different ways.

  • Some make new performance.
  • Some produce new writing.
  • Some don’t work with writing at all.
  • (Some call writing ‘text’.)
  • Some make plays.
  • Some make play/performance/theatre/live
  • art mash ups.
  • (Some just don’t like genres.)
  • Some have hundreds of staff.
  • Some have dozens of spaces.
  • Some don’t have any space at all.

But all our organisations work with artists to bring their new ideas to life.

That might mean commissioning an artist to make a show. It might mean producing their work. It might mean writing funding applications, or supporting a marketing campaign, or connecting artists up with a director/designer/producer/outside eye to make their show happen.  It might mean offering rehearsal space, dramaturgical advice, or just a friendly ear.

In short, the organisations who are part of STAMP have different approaches to a common goal: to support brilliant artists to make new live work. We came together because we think that by sharing knowledge and ideas, and by taking practical collective action, we can improve the way we work and ensure theatre and performance made in and from London is as diverse and brilliant as it can be.

What we do

STAMP meets bi-monthly. In meetings, we:

  • Share artist support news. This is so we get to know one another’s work better, increasing opportunities for the artists we work with by improving signposting to the resources and contacts that may
    be useful to them
  • Discuss practical challenges we’re facing as organisations and across the wider industry, and what solutions we could work
    towards together
  • Talk through a pertinent or thorny topic. What are the challenges to developing new work? How might Brexit affect arts funding?
    How can we better ensure artists’ diversity?
  • Strategise collective action, for example planning a series of events to connect artists and organisations

Our current and forthcoming actions include networking events for artists and producers, the publication of a database containing information on how to get your work supported and programmed, and research into the living and working conditions of London based artists.

Conncecting with us

We are aware that arts organisations can sometimes seem like a closed shop, and this can prevent artists with bold and brave new ideas from getting in touch. But we’re also aware that organisations who develop and produce new work can be flooded with email approaches, and that face to face contact is often the best way to start relationships.

That’s why STAMP events are a core part of our action – opportunities for artists and organisations to meet, talk, and share ideas.

The Albany, Almeida Theatre, Applecart Arts, Arcola Theatre, Artsadmin, artsdepot, Battersea Arts Centre, Barbican Centre, Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Blue Elephant Theatre, Brixton House, Bush Theatre, Camden People’s Theatre, China Plate, Chelsea Theatre,, Cockpit Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Finborough Theatre, Fuel Theatre, Gate Theatre, Graeae, Greenwich Theatre, Hackney Showroom, Improbable, Jacksons Lane, Kiln Theatre, Kings Head Theatre, Little Angel Theatre, National Theatre, New Diorama Theatre, New Earth Theatre, the Old Diorama Arts Centre, the Old Red Lion, the Old Vic, Omnibus Theatre, Park Theatre, Penned in the Margins, Pleasance, Poplar Union, Rich Mix, Riverside Studios, Shoreditch Town Hall, Soho Theatre, Streatham Space Project, Talawa, Tall Stories, Tamasha, Theatre Delicatessen, Theatre Peckham, Theatre503, Unicorn Theatre, VAULT Creative Arts, Wandsworth Arts Fringe, The Yard, and Young Vic

STAMP don't have a mailing list, but the easiest way to stay up to date with everything STAMP is doing is to sign up to Camden People's Theatre's mailing address here.

You can also contact Camden People's Theatre with any enquiries relating to STAMP on:

Tel: 02074194841

Email: foh@cptheatre.co.uk

"In person, and via research we commissioned in 2014, CPT artists told us loudly and clearly that they wanted joined-up thinking, transparency and collaboration between London venues and artist support programmes. STAMP is the result, and we’re thrilled it’s happening. Alongside our partner organisations, we at CPT are dedicated to ensuring STAMP makes London a more accommodating, easy-to-navigate and creative landscape for artists making new theatre and performance"

Brian Logan, Artistic Director, Camden People’s Theatre

“As the climate for arts funding grows more uncertain, it is more important than ever for collaborative practice between organisations, in order to support each other and the artists they programme. I am thrilled to hear about STAMP. It is exactly what is needed to better facilitate access to opportunities for artists in London, and for those outside of London who want to work here too. I look forward to seeing how it develops.”

Paula Varjack, artist

“We are delighted to be a part of the STAMP network, which will enhance our capacity to support of a wide range of artists and artistic organisations beyond The Old Vic’s walls."

"Creating a nurturing and supportive environment for all ”theatre makers” to explore and create new work is essential. We very much look forward to working collectively to share resources and experience, so that artists have the tools and foundations they need to create work that will keep London at the forefront of pioneering, daring theatre.”

Kate Varah, Executive Director, The Old Vic