Phoebe Waller-Bridge has purchased and donated a London apartment to be used rent-free by playwrights at the start of their careers, as part of a new theatre programme called the Writers’ Block scheme. The Fleabag creator and star, 41, bought the property specifically for writers who are beginning their careers and find London accommodation unaffordable. Residents will pay only bills, with no rent charged.
The flat is one element of Writers’ Block, which was set up to confront the cost of living in the capital for playwrights from underprivileged backgrounds. Waller-Bridge has also made what the initiative described as a generous financial contribution alongside the donation of the property.
Backing from leading theatre and screen figures
Jack Thorne, co-creator of Adolescence and writer of the films Wonder and Enola Holmes as well as the stage play Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, is among those providing financial support to the scheme. He recalled that his own early career was made easier because his brother, who lived in Croydon, let him stay for five years before Thorne moved to Luton.
Thorne said that for many writers the need for a roof makes writing impossible, which is why he considers the pilot so important. He argued that stories about a complicated world require writers from every background, and contrasted the problems faced by those from privilege with the struggle simply to survive that confronts others.
Other backers include playwright and screenwriter James Graham, whose stage work includes Ink, Quiz and Dear England, along with Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright and The Crown’s Peter Morgan. Waller-Bridge’s partner, Martin McDonagh, is also involved; he is best known for writing and directing films including the Oscar and Bafta-winning The Banshees Of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Class barrier in the industry
Graham said the initiative addresses the class barrier facing writers and helps them avoid giving up entirely. He described class as the largest area of under-representation that the industry’s urgent pursuit of representation is still letting down. Graham recalled sleeping on friends’ floors and working in call centres and bars while writing when he first reached London, and said every spare room a scheme like this can offer to writers starting out in the capital not only helps them write but saves them from abandoning the profession altogether.
Writers’ Block grew out of the Adopt a Playwright Award, an initiative founded in 2008 that offers affordable accommodation to writers from disadvantaged backgrounds who need to be in London for meetings, rehearsals, performances and career opportunities. Both schemes were created by Sofie Mason and Diana Jervis-Read.
