Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge donates London flat for early-career writers
Screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of the TV series Fleabag, has donated a London flat for writers from disadvantaged backgrounds. It will form part of Writers' Block, a new scheme tackling class barriers in theatre.
British screenwriter and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of the hit TV series Fleabag, has donated a flat in London so that early-career writers can afford to live in the capital. The property was bought for Writers' Block, a new scheme aimed at reducing class barriers in theatre.
The flat will be offered to writers from disadvantaged backgrounds, who will pay only the bills. Waller-Bridge has also made a financial contribution, which the initiative described as generous. Screenwriter Jack Thorne, co-creator of Adolescence and writer of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is also backing the scheme financially.
Backers and their reasons
Thorne said he was fortunate at the start of his career: his brother, who lived in Croydon, put him up for five years. In his view, the need for a roof makes writing impossible for many writers. Other backers include playwright James Graham, Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright, The Crown's Peter Morgan, and Waller-Bridge's partner Martin McDonagh, director of The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Research by the Sutton Trust and the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre found that only 16% of people working in the creative industries came from working-class backgrounds, and that class imbalances were more pronounced there than in any other sector. Graham said the industry's drive to improve representation still overlooks class. He recalled sleeping on friends' floors and working in call centres and bars while writing when he first came to London.
Origins of the scheme
Writers' Block grew out of the Adopt a Playwright Award, founded in 2008 by Sofie Mason and Diana Jervis-Read. It provides affordable accommodation for writers who need to be in London for meetings, rehearsals, performances and career opportunities. Londoners offer spare rooms at reduced rates, capped at £30 a night or £500 a month. So far 15 homes have signed up and 12 writers have been helped, with stays ranging from overnight to longer-term. The organisers say the scheme could appeal to older people living alone who would welcome companionship and extra income.
