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Fossil Free £5 Tickets

Love the RSC, but not BP?


Everyone should have access to the arts, especially young people. But the RSC's £5 tickets for 16-25 year olds are currently sponsored by BP - an oil company that is endangering those same young people's futures. With your help, we will create an alternative scheme that gives young people oil-free affordable access to RSC plays - and shows that there are ethical alternatives to oil sponsorship.

· Help us fund alternative 'Fossil Free £5 Tickets' for 16-25 year olds

· Support grassroots groups on the frontlines of BP's environmental and human rights impacts

· Join Mark Rylance, Vanessa Redgrave, Andrew Garfield, Emma Thompson, Tamsin Greig, Caryl Churchill, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maxine Peake, Simon McBurney, Miriam Margolyes, Zoë Wanamaker, Vivienne Westwood, Jasper Britton and many others in the theatre world in creating an ethical alternative to oil sponsorship



What's the story?

The RSC is one of Britain's most beloved theatre companies. But its reputation is being tarnished by its choice of BP as a sponsor.

BP's global extraction of fossil fuels is causing dangerous climate change and deadly oil spills while supporting repressive regimes and blocking clean energy alternatives around the world.

Affordable tickets for young people are vital - otherwise they are priced out of experiencing the RSC's powerful productions. But it is unfair that 16-25-year olds can only access the art they love by helping to promote a company that is actively threatening their futures.

Here's where you come in!

BP only provides around 0.5% of the RSC's annual income, and there are many positive alternatives to oil sponsorship. Last year, both Tate and the Edinburgh International Festival parted company with BP after decades-long relationships, and hundreds of artists have pledged not to take oil money for their work.

So we will show the RSC just how much its artists and audiences want an end to oil sponsorship, by crowdfunding our own unofficial 'Fossil Free £5 Tickets' scheme.

Join the movement for an RSC without BP

· DONATE NOW!
· SHARE THIS CROWDFUNDER to help us reach more donors and have a greater impact
· Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook


Read on for more information...



Who is behind Fossil Free £5 Tickets?

This brand new scheme is supported by 16-25-year-olds, including existing members of the RSC's 'BP £5 Tickets' scheme, young actors, students and climate campaigners.

It is also supported by a number of theatre professionals, many of whom have worked with the RSC in the past. They include Mark Rylance (who is an RSC Associate Artist), Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Andrew Garfield, Tamsin Greig, Vivienne Westwood, Caryl Churchill, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maxine Peake, Simon McBurney, Miriam Margolyes, Zoë Wanamaker, Phyllida Lloyd, Jasper Britton (also an RSC Associate Artist), Margot Leicester and Moira Buffini, Timberlake Wertenbaker, April de Angelis, Sam Pritchard, Anders Lustgarten, Julia Pascal, Kirsty Housley, Natalia Kaliada, Daniel Bye, Cressida Brown, Lucy Ellinson, Francesca Martinez, Trevor White, Eleanor Matsuura and Shelley Hastings.

The scheme is being co-ordinated by Culture Unstained, a campaigning organisation working towards ending oil sponsorship, in partnership with culture professionals and communities on the frontlines of oil extraction. We are members of the Art Not Oil coalition.

How will Fossil Free £5 Tickets work?

We will buy tickets to RSC plays and offer them to 16 to 25-year-olds for a donation of £5 - the money from this crowdfunder will cover the rest. The more funds we raise, the more tickets we will be able to offer. Sign up to our mailing list to get hold of tickets.

We also intend to reach out to young people from marginalised and disadvantaged communities, who would never normally go and see a play at the RSC. We will encourage them to join the scheme, and support them to make it possible – including covering transport costs – because we are committed to making culture accessible to all, not just privileged elites.

How much should I donate?

Anything you are able to give - from £10 to £100, or even more! - will be put to good use supporting young people's access to amazing theatre. And 10% of whatever you give will support the inspirational work of communities on the frontlines of BP's fossil fuel extraction. The more we raise, the clearer the message we will be sending to the RSC that people are so strongly opposed to oil sponsorship that they are prepared to put their own money where their mouths are.

How is it supporting frontline struggles against BP?


BP is one of the world's largest oil companies, operating in 72 countries.
·        It makes billions every year by extracting fossil fuels, making it the world's 11th biggest corporate contributor to climate change . It has no plans to stop searching for new sources of oil and gas, despite the need to leave 80% of known fossil fuels in the ground.

·        It was responsible for the world's worst oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, which killed 11 workers, poisoned countless marine animals and birds, and impacted the health and livelihoods of communities all along the US and Mexican Gulf Coast.

·        It works in close partnership with many of the world's most repressive regimes - including Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Egypt - and can push ahead with projects safe in the knowledge that local opposition will be suppressed .

By promoting BP, the RSC is sending a message that these business activities are acceptable. In order to begin to redress the balance and express our solidarity, we plan to donate 10% of whatever we raise to two amazing organisations advocating for climate justice and self-determination in two parts of the world that have been badly hit by BP:

1. Bridge the Gulf
bridgethegulfproject.org

A deeply inspiring community media project that is lifting up the voices of US Gulf Coast communities working towards justice and sustainability. The region is still reeling from the effects of BP's catastrophic Deepwater Horizon spill, whilst being targeted for huge new oil extraction and pipeline projects and buffeted by extreme weather exacerbated by climate change. Bridge The Gulf provides training, support, and resources to amplify the voices of those on the frontlines of struggles for survival and for progressive movement-building in the region.

2. Free West Papua
www.freewestpapua.org

Free West Papua tirelessly campaigns for self-determination for the West Papuan people after decades of brutal occupation by the Indonesian government. BP is one of the biggest investors in the resource-rich region and has worked closely with the Indonesian government to develop a huge gas project. Indigenous West Papuan communities are calling for a boycott of BP because of its support for and financial contributions to the regime that is violently oppressing them.

Photo by Clare Harding
 
What do we hope to achieve?

We want to show the RSC the strength of feeling from its own community – of artists, audiences and young theatre lovers – against BP sponsorship, whilst demonstrating positive alternatives and supporting those who are at the sharp end of BP's operations around the world.

We hope that the RSC will acknowledge the depth and breadth of concern and end the sponsorship deal with BP as soon as possible, without putting any jobs at risk.

What will I get in return?

As well as the obvious thrill of being part of a fast-growing and vital global campaign to end support and legitimacy for fossil fuel companies, and the joy of helping a young person see a piece of incredible theatre from a seat they would never normally be able to access, there are also rewards on offer:

A £10 donation will get you our eternal thanks and appreciation.

A £20 donation will get you a thankyou tweet!

A £30 donation will get your name onto the Supporters List on our website

A £50 donation will get you an exclusive "Fossil Free £5 tickets" postcard

A £100 donation or higher will get you a limited edition "Fossil Free £5 tickets" T-shirt

For a £1000 donation you will be invited to an exclusive outing to see a play at the RSC with the team behind the £5 Fossil Free Tickets scheme!

These rewards are optional, and we will get in touch to see if you would like to receive them after you have donated.

Join the movement for an RSC without BP

· DONATE NOW!
· SHARE THIS CROWDFUNDER to help us reach more donors and have a greater impact


Are there other ways to donate?

Yes! If you would prefer to donate via a cheque or bank transfer email us and we will sort it out - [email redacted]

I have a question that hasn't been answered here.

Have a look on our website, which has more detailed information, or contact us by emailing [email redacted]

Thank you so much for your support!
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Donations 

  • Eddie Parker
    • £10 
    • 4 yrs
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Organiser

Jess Worth
Organiser

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