Sir Ian McKellen, Mandeep Dhillon, Joseph Fiennes, Sir Derek Jacobi, Lennie James, Alex Lawther, Miriam Margolyes, Lesley Manville, Elaine Paige & many other British stars unite to support the entertainment industry
Under the hashtag #FortheLoveofArts, the monologues, which have been recorded at home, are available to watch on the Equity Benevolent Fund’s YouTube channel (link below – or scroll down for ways to donate, including by TEXT).
And with most of them only two to five minutes long, they are a perfect arts fix if you’re feeling nearly as overwhelmed by what you feel you *should* be watching as by everything else you’re dealing with.
For The Love Of Arts YouTube channel
To whet your appetite here’s Lesley Manville, performing The Girl With No Name by Susan Oudot:
#ForTheLoveOfArts also aims to inspire and entertain – as well as to encourage members of the public to upload their own performances under the hashtag.
The initiative has been created and spearheaded by actress Michelle Collins, who has brought together some of the country’s best and best-loved actors to perform short monologues and raise money for entertainment industry workers whose livelihoods have been shattered as a result of the Arts sector’s shutdown.
Michelle said: “The current crisis has had a devastating effect on my industry affecting so many of us indiscriminately. I wanted to help. I started ringing around friends in the industry and one thing led to another and I suddenly had a list of fantastic, well-known and highly respected film, TV and stage actors on board, all wanting to help in any way they could. I also have a group of extremely talented writers who have all agreed to write a monologue for whoever needs one.”
The project also features a number of new and original pieces of writing from Hugh Dennis, Tom Wright, Damon Rochefort, Andrew Lynford, Chloe Moss, Susan Oudot, Martyn Hesford, Stewart Permutt, Tyler Rigby and Tony Grounds.
Since the lockdown began, the Equity Benevolent Fund has been dealing with more than 250 claims per week for financial support from performers and creatives who cannot afford to pay for food, utilities or other essentials.
HOW TO DONATE
To donate to the #FortheLoveofArts Equity Benevolent Fund go to their JustGiving page at: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/equity-benevolentfund.
To give via text message, text EQUITY to 70470 to give £5.00 or 70480 to give £10.
For other ways to donate, visit www.equity.org.uk/howtodonate