Newsletter Autumn 2025 - Dear Friends & Supporters

Dear Friends & Supporters,

We hope this finds you in good health. As the world struggles to deal with so much conflict, we are grateful for the support we can give each other through our small but important charity.

We are the only charity in the UK that helps performers outside of the UK. This makes our task of raising money crucial as cultures around the world are attacked, women are silenced, artists struggle, and many go into exile.

Thank you to all of you who came to our fabulous lunch in June at Cubana in Waterloo. We celebrated, were entertained by wonderful Cuban musicians and feasted from the delicious menu at the restaurant. We raised £5,500.  Our aim next year will be to find a sponsor for the lunch so that whatever we raise is ours. If you know anyone who might be interested to help us in this way, please email Maria, our secretary.

Our Next Fundraising Venture

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be participating in the Big Give campaign again this year, which was a huge help to us last Christmas. The campaign runs from 2nd to 9th December, and every pound you donate will be doubled!!

Please make a note of the week and consider donating via this link.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our co-President, Lucian Msamati, and our Patron, Rima Horton, we’ve already raised £2,500 towards our goal. Your support is so crucial to help us prepare for a wonderful year of giving 2026.

Thank you for being part of this journey!

OTHER FUNDRAISING NEWS 

On Sunday 19 October, Jo Cameron Brown hosted a fundraiser for us in Edinburgh. Tim Licata, magician and actor provided the entertainment in the gorgeous Leith pub The Joker & The Thief. Thanks to Alex for giving us the venue free of charge and also donating.  A lot of incredible magic tricks performed, a lot of laughter, and a raffle, brought in £550 for the charity. Thank you to all who supported and to Tim, especially for yours.

What Impact Does Your Donation Make?

We are pleased to have new beneficiaries in Cuba where they are facing real hardship again.  The Ballet Folklorico de Santiago Dance Company have asked us to support their vital work teaching children the national dances of Cuba and keeping their culture alive.

Our longstanding relationships continue with theatre practitioners in Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey and Syria. We are hearing from all of them that our small grants put food on the table, buy medicines, mobile data, a roof over their heads, buses to carry them to their work, and all the while they continue with their artistic projects and aspirations. 

What Do Our Beneficiaries Say?

Matesu Dube in Zimbabwe, where there is only running water once a week and electricity twice a week for a few hours, runs Umkhathi Theatre. Together they create historical shows for young people in the Bulawayo area. 

He writes: “Once again, I am deeply grateful to SafetyCurtain for standing with artists in need. Your support not only sustains us in difficult times but also gives us the courage to keep creating”. - Matesu Dube

Sophie, Anne, Lydiah, Fredrick and Tony make up the 5Cs Theatre Collective in Kenya.

They tell us: “Our work remains jeopardised and extremely difficult because of lack of access to resources.  SafetyCurtain remains our only source of support as we continue to grow and use art to advance human rights and community struggles”. - 5Cs Theatre Collective

Thank you for your support and we wish you and your loved ones a very peaceful and happy time together over the Festive period.

Sincerely, 

Jo Cameron Brown, Chair

Mary Roscoe, Vice Chair

Maria Vasiliou, Secretary