North East-based Curious Monkey Theatre, formed in 2012, will close early 2024 due to "a challenging funding environment."
Artistic Director Amy Golding said, “after more than a decade creating and delivering productions and creative activity with under-represented communities, we have made an incredibly difficult decision to wrap up the company. While we have gratefully received core funding from a number of trusts and foundations over the past few years, the prospect of returning to running an organisation from hand to mouth, without core funding, is no longer viable in the current economic and political climate.
“The way we work takes time to build trust, needs to be done with care and the right resources to support our team and participants. Without those resources in the longer term, we decided to take a positive step to close Curious Monkey with care and find new ways to have an impact.”
Jenny Dewar, the company's Executive Director, added, “we are so proud of what we have created, the accomplishments of the company, all the brilliant people involved and the impact the charity has had on many people’s lives.
“We will celebrate Curious Monkey’s impact in the North East and beyond by creating an event on 15 March at Gosforth Civic Theatre. It will be a moment to come together for staff, artists, collaborators, participants, co-creators and most of all the communities we have worked with over the last decade.”
Curious Monkey was the first arts organisation of sanctuary in the North East. It is currently touring its production of Penguin by Syrian refugee and disabled artist Hamzeh Al Hussien.