- Caryl Churchill walks away from Donmar Warehouse over its sponsorship with Barclays
- Stephen Dillane, Samuel West, Bilal Hasna among artists backing Churchill’s decision, urging Donmar to drop the bank
- Move follows growing pressure on UK arts institutions, including Sadler’s Wells and the Almeida, over ties to complicit funders
Caryl Churchill, one of Britain’s greatest living playwrights, has withdrawn a play from the Donmar Warehouse upon learning that the theatre receives support from Barclays, which invests over £2 billion and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting to nine arms companies supplying weapons to Israel.
Speaking about her decision, Caryl Churchill said:
“Theatres used to say they couldn’t manage without tobacco sponsorship, but they do. Now it’s time they stopped helping advertise banks that support what Israel is doing to Palestinians”
Her action has been met with widespread support. Over 300 theatre workers have signed an open letter, published in full below, backing Churchill and urging the Donmar Warehouse to cut ties with the bank.
Actors Alex Lawther, Asif Khan, Maggie Steed, Harriet Walter and Juliet Stevenson say they share Donmar Warehouse’s mission to foster “a more empathetic society”, and this is precisely why “they can no longer overlook Donmar’s relationship with Barclays, which enables Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians”.
Barclays currently invests over £2 billion and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting to nine arms companies whose technology and weapons are used in Israel’s brutal assaults on Palestinians.
Barclays is also the only UK-headquartered bank that acts as a ‘primary dealer’ of Israel government bonds, directly helping the state raise funds to finance the mounting cost of its military assaults.
The bank’s role in other human rights and environmental harms has also come under fire. Last year, Barclays was named the largest financier of the fossil fuel industry in Europe for the eighth consecutive year.
Directors Richard Eyre, Ian Rickson, Maxwell Stafford-Clark, writer Simon Stephens and theatre-maker Tim Crouch are among those who say that “Donmar Warehouse’s relationship with Barclays directly contradicts its commitment to “keep environmental responsibility at the heart of our work”’.
Churchill’s withdrawal comes amid growing calls across the UK cultural sector for institutions to cut their ties to organisations complicit in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
- In May 2025, 435 theatre and arts professionals demanded that the Almeida Theatre end its relationship with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
- Since November 2023, Sadler’s Wells has faced growing pressure over its sponsorship from Barclays, whose Chairman Nigel Higgins also chairs Sadler’s Wells Board.
- In September 2024, over 1,000 artists and Islington residents, including Maxine Peake, Juliet Stevenson, and Jeremy Corbyn MP, signed an open letter demanding Sadler’s Wells sever its ties with the bank.
- Later that month, dancer Eve Stainton withdrew from the Sadler’s Wells East launch programme, citing “moral objections” to its Barclays sponsorship.
Culture Workers Against Genocide, who co-organised the open letter, said:
“There is an ethical dissonance amongst arts leaders on six-figure salaries partnering with corporations whose actions contradict the values their institutions claim to uphold. Caryl Churchill’s principled stand reflects the growing refusal among artists to stay silent while the arts are used to launder the reputations of corporations complicit in genocide.”
Read the letter in full:
Dear Tim Sheader and Henny Finch,
As playwrights, actors and culture workers, we support those, including Caryl Churchill, who have recently walked away from working with the Donmar Warehouse because of its relationship with Barclays.
We recognise the importance of Donmar Warehouse in creating opportunities for young and emerging artists, supporting artistic development and enriching the cultural landscape of the UK.
We share Donmar Warehouse’s mission to foster “a more empathetic society”, which is why we can no longer overlook its relationship with Barclays, which enables Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.
Barclays invests over £2 billion in, and provides loans and underwriting worth £6.1 billion to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians. The bank also has an agreement directly with Israel to act as a ‘primary dealer’ for its government bonds. This means it helps Israel raise money to fund its grave violations of international law. It is the only UK headquartered bank to play this role.
In addition, last year Barclays was named as the biggest European bankroller of the fossil fuel industry for the 8th year running. Donmar Warehouse’s relationship with Barclays directly contradicts its commitment to “keep environmental responsibility at the heart of our work.”
Barclays states that its sponsorships of venues like Donmar Warehouse help “build our brand and reputation”. It uses venues like Donmar Warehouse as cover to shield itself from accountability over its complicity in Israel’s war crimes and role in financing climate destruction.
Arts institutions have an ethical duty not to contribute to oppression and injustice. By continuing to accept sponsorship from Barclays, Donmar Warehouse is helping to launder the bank’s reputation as it profits from Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
Culture workers have repeatedly spoken out against Barclays. From the hundreds of bands and musicians who forced Barclays to withdraw from its music festival sponsorships, to the 1,000+ artists and Islington residents who have demanded Sadler’s Wells end its ties to the bank.
We call on you to commit to end Donmar Warehouse’s partnership with Barclays.
Yours sincerely
| A J de la Fe Guedes | Choreographer and Performer |
| Aaron Cass | Playwright/actor |
| Aaron Kilercioglu | Playwright |
| Abigail Joseph | Writer |
| Abla Kandalaft | Curator |
| Adel Tuzani | Singer/Actor |
| Adelaide Waldrop | Intimacy Director |
| Adi Currie | Lighting designer & technician |
| Adrian Hornsby | Writer |
| AlanJames Burns | Festival Artistic Director |
| Alastair Curtis | Director, The AIDS Plays Project |
| Alex Lawther | Alex Lawther |
| Alexandra Kambanella | Actor |
| Alfred Enoch | Actor |
| Alicia Jane Turner | Composer & Sound Designer |
| Alma Kremnitzer | Dancer |
| Amal Wartalska | Counsellor |
| Amanda Grace | Performer of Care |
| Amber Lone | writer |
| Amelia Donkor | Actor |
| Amelia Gann | Actor |
| Amir Amirani | Filmmaker |
| Amy Russell | Theatre pedagogue |
| An-Ting Chang | Composer/Director |
| Andy Rush | Actor |
| angela hill | Performer |
| Aniela Piasecka | Artist |
| Anjali PS | Cultural Worker |
| Anne Rouse | Playwright |
| Annie Hanauer | Choreographer |
| Annie Siddons | Playwright |
| Anouk Chalmers | Actor |
| Anshula Bain | Actor |
| Antony McDonald | Designer/director |
| Arabella Stanger | Theatre educator and researcher |
| Arifa Akbar | Journalist |
| Ash Weir | Actor |
| Asif Khan | Actor/Playwright |
| Ayisha de lanerolle | Educator arts & culture |
| Ayushi Koul | Theatre researcher |
| Bea Roberts | Playwright |
| Bec Boey | Writer |
| Ben Harrison | Theatre Director and Playwright |
| Ben Mango | IT Consultant |
| Benjamin Peterson | Director |
| Bernt Bjørn | Actor |
| Beth Frieden | Actor |
| Beth Watson | Writer, performer, FoH worker |
| Bilal Hasna | Actor & Playwright |
| Brian Precious | Writer |
| Caitlin Hughan | Designer |
| Camila Gonzalez | Director, translator and scholar |
| Candice Purwin | Artist |
| Caolan McGinley | Facilitator, front of house |
| Caroline Steinbeis | Theatre Director |
| Caspar Harvey | Agent |
| Charlotte Hamblin | Actor and screenwriter |
| Chris Robinson | Actor |
| Chris Tranchell | Actor |
| Conn Williams | Dance artist |
| Cordelia Hammond | Performer (singer) |
| Corin Buckeridge | Musician |
| Corinne Jaber | Actress/playwright |
| Cressida brown | Theatre Director |
| Cyril Nri | Actor |
| Daisy Hale | Producer |
| Dan Cottrell | Designer |
| Dan de la Motte | Performer. Councillor, Equity Trade Union |
| Daniel York Loh | Writer and Actor |
| Danusia Samal | Playwright, Actor |
| Deanalís Arocho Resto | Actor |
| Deane McElree | Playwright |
| Deborah Maclaren | Actress |
| Denise Gough | Actress |
| Dermot Daly | Director, Dramaturg, Actor |
| Des Hamilton | Casting Director |
| Dickie Beau | Actor, writer |
| Dijana Rakovic | Producer |
| Douglas Saltmarshe | Actor, retired |
| Dr Beth Roberts | Academic and writer |
| Eddy Hare | Comedian |
| Eden Harbud | Performer |
| Edward Davis | Actor |
| Edward Fortes | Dramaturg & Assistant Director |
| Eimhin Daly | researcher |
| Eleanor Sikorski | Choreographer |
| Elete Nelson-Fearon | Translator |
| Elhum Shakerifar | Producer |
| Elina Akhmetova | Dance / Theatre / Film |
| Ellen Buckley | Director |
| Elvire Roberts | Writer |
| Emily Millwood | Actor |
| Erik Rehl | Set Designer |
| Esther Neslen | arts worker |
| Esther Wakelin-Stotten | Art educator |
| Eva Halldóra Guðmundsdóttir | Dramaturg, director, drama teacher and performance maker |
| Eva Jonas | Artist Facilitator |
| Ezekiel Baskin | Director, Lighting Designer |
| Farhana Sheikh | Writer |
| Felix Yoosefinejad | Facilities Manager |
| Fiona Bailey | Senior Lecturer, Art Education |
| Fionn Ó Loingsigh | Actor |
| Flora Wellesley Wesley | Co-artistic director of Nora |
| Frances Morgan | producer, artist |
| Frederick Neuhouser | Philosophy professor |
| Frey Kwa Hawking | Dramaturg and critic |
| Gareth Evans | Writer and Producer |
| Giles Walker | Artist |
| Giovanni Bienne | Actor |
| Gloria Oyarzabal | Visual artist |
| Grace Kavanagh | Stage Manager |
| Gregory Armand | Performer |
| Hannah Vincent | Writer |
| Hardish Virk | Marketing, Audience Development and Curator |
| Harriet Walter | Actor |
| Heather Alderson | Artist |
| Helen Kalkhoven Dickson | Retired manager |
| Hikaru Morimoto | Actor trainer |
| Humira Imtiaz | Theatremaker |
| Ian MacNeil | Designer |
| Ian Rickson | director |
| Imogen Ashby | Theatre maker |
| Imogen Knight | Movement director |
| Imogen Lucy Tranchell | Actor |
| Iram Malik | Educator |
| Isabella Snape | Director |
| Jackson Caines | Musician |
| Jade Franks | actor/writer |
| James Mounsey | Dancer |
| James Rowland | Writer & performer |
| Jamie McCarthy | Musician |
| Jayson Gillham | Musician |
| Jemima Yong | Performance Maker |
| Jennifer Lim | Actor |
| Jepke Goudsmit | theatremaker |
| Jess Pentney | Actor |
| Jim Caesar | Actor |
| Jo Harris | Casting Associate |
| Joel Nash | Actor-Musician |
| Joel Samuels | Playwright & Actor |
| Johanna Blair | Art / Film Advocacy |
| John Garrett | Retired university lecturer |
| Jonathan Holt | Stage Lighting rental warehouse manager |
| Jude Christian | Director and writer |
| Juliet Stevenson. | Actor |
| Kaajal Modi | Artist |
| Karen Bartke | Actor |
| Karl Turnell | Musician |
| Karla Marie Sweet | Actor & Writer |
| Kate DeRight | Creative Director |
| Kate Scott | Street performer |
| Kate Smith | Arts informed, participatory researcher |
| Katherine Akers | Dramatherapist |
| Katherine Igoe-Ewer | Producer |
| Kathryn Webb | Playwright and front of house |
| Katie McQuillan | Actor |
| Katrina Bennett | Playwright |
| Kayleigh Swanson | Development |
| Khyati Sehgal | actor |
| Kim Chin | Artist-facilitator |
| Klara Csanyi | Bookkeeper |
| Kudzanayi Chiwawa | Actor |
| Kwami Odoom | Actor |
| Lachele Carl | Actor |
| Laline Paull | Playwright & novelist |
| Lane Dombois | composer, playwright |
| Lara Tysseling | Producer |
| Laura Hanna | Actor |
| Lauren Bayly | Casting Director |
| Leah Harrison | Casting Director |
| Lee Smith-Gibbons | Actor |
| Leila Mimmack | Actor |
| Lemba de Miranda | Actor; playwright |
| Leo kay | Actor director |
| Lieve Franssen | Choir director |
| Lisa Rossetti | Community Arts Practitioner |
| Lorea Burge | Choreographer and performer |
| Lou Egan | Box Office Worker / Director |
| Louise Malone | Artist |
| Lucy Edkins | Actor |
| Lucy Morrison | Director |
| Lucy Sheen | Actor, writer, director and filmmaker |
| Lydia Sabatini | Playwright |
| Lynda brennan | Director of community theatre. Enfield Peoples Thestre |
| Maddison Bulleyment | Actor |
| Maggie steed | Actor |
| Mairi Pardalaki | Performer & choreographer |
| Maisie Woodford | Dancer |
| Marcus Berdaut | Creative Producer |
| Maria Thelwell | Executive Producer |
| Marie Holm Østerskov | Artist |
| Mark Caffrey | Writer / Researcher |
| Mark Thomas | Performer /writer |
| Martin Fisher | Performer |
| Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini | Writer and filmmaker |
| Maxine Flasher-Duzgunes | Choreographer & Writer |
| Maxwell Stafford-Clark | Director |
| Megan Morgan | Producer |
| Merete Hersvik | Professional dancer |
| Merlin Stevens | Actor, Playwright |
| Michael Elias | Writer |
| Michael Kitchin | Producer |
| Michael Morris | Arts Producer |
| Michelle Carrier | Flamenco dancer |
| Migrants in Culture | Migrant-led design agency |
| Milly Oldfield | Actor, Theatre Maker |
| Miranda Pennell | Filmmaker |
| Moi Tran | Designer |
| Molly Moody | Actor, Producer |
| Molly Wilson | Theatre Maker and researcher |
| Morgan Lloyd Malcolm | Playwright and Screenwriter |
| Morgan Thorne | Product Designer |
| Nabra Nelson | Playwright & Producer |
| Nadia Nadif | Actor and film maker |
| Nafeesah Butt | Cultural worker |
| Natasha Pavey | Theatre maker and creative producer |
| Naylah Ahmed | Writer |
| Neela Doležalová | Writer |
| Nic Farr | Designer and academic |
| Nicholas Girdwood | DJ |
| Nick Clarke | Writer |
| Nick Gill | Playwright |
| Nicola Baldwin | Playwright |
| Nicola Williams | Editor |
| Niloo Khan | Director |
| Nina Lyndon | Theatre maker |
| Nina Millns | Writer |
| Nkenna Akunna | Playwright |
| Ola Forman | Actor |
| Olivia MacDonald | Actor |
| Orlando Del Maestro | Filmmaker |
| Oscar Simms | Director |
| Ozlem Ozhabes | Director |
| P Sadeghian | Actor |
| P. A. Skantze | Theatre Director |
| Pablo Gainza | Actor |
| pamela blakelock | puppeteer |
| Patrick Jones | Playwright |
| Paul Barnhill | Actor/Director/Writer |
| Paul Elsam | Director / Author |
| Paul Valentine | Actor, Founder of Equity for a Green New Deal |
| Pauline Melville | Writer |
| Pedro de Senna | theatre-maker |
| Pennie Quinton | Magazine editor |
| Penny Woolcock | Writer Director |
| Pepa Ubera | Artist, choreographer and teacher |
| Philip Arditti | Actor-writer-Theatremaker |
| Phill Minns | Chair of Refugee Music org |
| Pía Laborde-Noguez | Actor |
| Pippa ConwY | Actor |
| Prudenza Lacriola | Screenwriter |
| Rabab Ghazoul | Artist |
| Rachel Gomme | artist |
| Rai Boreel | Actor/Technician |
| Ramneek Singh | Playwright |
| Remi Graves | writer |
| Richard Eyre | Director |
| Rida Hamidou | Playwright |
| Robert Vesty | Intimacy Coordinator/Director |
| Roly Botha | Composer, sound designer, actor |
| Rose Biggin | Writer |
| Rosie MacPherson | Artistic Director |
| Rowan Kudekha-Lark | Writer, Director, Performer & Producer |
| Roxana Vilk | Actor and playwright |
| Ruth Lass | Actor and Equity International Solidarity Committee |
| Ruth Pixley | Gardener |
| Saba Abbas | Playworker |
| Saba Ahmed | Writer |
| Saida khay | Ceramicist |
| Saje Flor | Designer |
| Salman Akhtar | Actor |
| Sam furney | Dancer |
| Samuel West | Actor and director |
| Sangavi Sugumar | Arts administration |
| Sara Kestelman | Actor |
| Sara Masry | Actor / playwright |
| Sara Shaarawi | Playwright |
| Sarah Beddington | Filmmaker |
| sarah blanc | Director & Choreographer |
| Sarah Jane Butler | Writer |
| Sarah leaver | Playwright and theatre lecturer |
| Savannah Whaley | Lecturer, researcher in theatre & performance |
| Season Butler | Writer, dramaturg |
| Sebastian Aguirre | Co Artistic Director, Ice & Fire Theatre |
| Shailja Patel | Playwright |
| Shobu Kapoor | Actress |
| Siân Robins-Grace | Writer |
| Sianad Gregory | Actor |
| SImon Stephens | Playwright |
| Sioda Adams | Writer, Director, choreographer |
| So Far | Actor |
| Sonia Beck | Actor |
| Sophia Oriogun-Williams | Theatre-maker & community engagement producer |
| Sophie Munson | Music industry |
| Sovay Berriman | Artist |
| Stella Barnes | Theatre Maker |
| Stephen Dillane | Actor |
| Suba Das | Theatre Director |
| Sue Tame | Retired teacher |
| Sufia Sadullah | Filmmaker |
| Sule Rimi | Actor |
| Susan Engel Morand | Actor |
| Tabitha Ross | Cultural producer |
| Tam Dean Burn | Actor |
| Theo Moore | Theatre Maker |
| Thessa Gebhardt | Actor |
| Thusitha Jayasundera | Actor |
| Tim Crouch | Playwright, Director, Actor |
| Tom O’Brien | Director |
| Tommo Fowler | Dramaturg and director |
| Tony Graham | Director |
| Toots Butcher | Designer |
| Usaamah hussain | Actor |
| Vera Ion | Playwright |
| vic doggart | performer |
| Victoria Burns for Culture Declares UK | producer |
| Victoria Lupton | Theatre Producer |
| Will Attenborough | Actor |
| Yasmin Sidhwa | Artistic Director |
| Yussef El Guindi | Playwright |
| Zaffar Kunial | Poet |
| Zainab Hasan | Actor |
Artists for Palestine UK 