Waller-Bridge donates flat to Writers’ Block scheme
Howard Lake | 9 November 2026 | Uncategorised
Actress, screenwriter and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has donated the rent-free use of a London flat she bought for early-career writers, as part of Writers’ Block, a new scheme tackling the cost of London accommodation for playwrights from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The resident of the flat pays the bills only. Jack Thorne has also contributed financially, and the scheme is backed by James Graham, Sally Wainwright and Peter Morgan, along with Lee Hall, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Stephen Beresford, Caryl Churchill, Martin McDonagh and David Lan. The Estate of Harold Pinter has also contributed.
How Writers’ Block works
Writers’ Block is run in partnership with Omnibus Theatre in Clapham. It matches playwrights with Londoners who have a spare room or property to rent at reduced rates. These “Omnihosts” charge no more than £30 a night or £500 a month, and many charge less. Stays range from a single night to longer terms. The scheme has also funded a Writers’ Cabin, a free workspace for playwrights.
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From award to accommodation
Writers’ Block was created by Sofie Mason and Diana Jervis-Read, founders of the Off West End Theatre Awards and OffWestEnd.com. It builds on the Adopt a Playwright Award, set up in 2008 to support emerging writers from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The annual £10,000 award has supported 55 writers as winners or runners-up, including Ryan Calais Cameron, Sarah Grochala and Kenny Emson. Many winners spent the money on London accommodation, which prompted the wider scheme.
Pilot results
In the pilot year, 15 homes signed up and 12 writers stayed. Reported savings include about £850 a month for Emma-Louise Howell, about £600 a month for Tommy Sissons and between £4,000 and £6,000 over a year for Steve Hevey.
The need is clear. Research from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and the Sutton Trust found that 16 per cent of creative industry workers come from working-class backgrounds. Also, 41 per cent of Adopt a Playwright members live outside London.
Thorne said: “For many writers the need for a roof makes writing impossible which is why this pilot is so important.”
Graham said: “We don’t need grand gestures, just someone to open a door and help us keep going.”
What fundraisers can learn
Writers’ Block shows what gifts in kind can achieve alongside cash. A donated flat and spare rooms from ordinary householders remove a specific barrier directly, and the £30 and £500 caps make the offer easy to understand.
High-profile donors lend credibility, but the pilot’s evidence, with 12 writers housed and measurable savings, gives the next appeal a story beyond the famous names. When it launched, the scheme was also presented as a model other theatres could replicate, which suggests scope for similar approaches elsewhere in the arts.
- Keep it Fringe Fund offers £100k to Edinburgh Fringe performers (14 March 2023)
- Fleabag Support Fund to help theatre workers in financial need during COVID (23 March 2020)
- London’s oldest restaurant donated to the National Trust (3 November 2026)
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.