What we do and why

Fuel leads the field in independent producing in the UK’s live performance sector. Since our story began in 2004, we have produced over 143 shows, 7 festivals, 4 films, 36 podcasts, an app, and three books. We have achieved this with the support of more than 107 artists and companies and our work has been experienced by more than 700,000 live audience members, 660,000 online audiences, and 8,750 participants.

We work with brilliant artists to enable them to share their artistic vision. We develop and present an adventurous, playful, and significant programme of live, digital, and multi-disciplinary work for a representative audience across the UK and beyond. Our mission is to produce art that exposes our fears, reveals our hopes, and empowers us to change what needs to be changed.

Fuel produce fresh work for adventurous people by inspiring artists.

We believe in supporting and stimulating artists to develop their own ideas through provocation and challenge. We have a rich and trusting creative dialogue with all of the artists we work with, and we engage with all aspects of the development of the work. Each relationship is unique, as we try to respond to the needs of each artist individually.

Some of the artists Fuel has worked with include Will Adamsdale, Inua Ellams, Encounter, Fevered Sleep, Lewis Gibson, Gyre & Gimble, Nick Makoha, Racheal Ofori, Frauke Requardt, David Rosenberg, Andy Smith, Sound&Fury, Melly Still, Tom Stuart, Uninvited Guests and Melanie Wilson.

2004

Fuel is co-founded at Battersea Arts Centre by Louise Blackwell, Kate McGrath and Sarah Golding nee Quelch.

2006

Fuel becomes Producer for The Lyric Hammersmith, developing, producing and curating the programme with the Artistic Director.

2006

Kate McGrath and Louise Blackwell run Fuel together until 2017.

2006

Louise Blackwell forges new relationships with companies Clod Ensemble and later Fevered Sleep which would continue through to 2017.

2009

Fuel receives its first core funding from Arts Council England, becoming a Regularly Funded Organisation.

2010

Fuel is accepted onto the Arts Council England National Portfolio for the 2012 - 2015 round.

2012

The company becomes a registered charity with a Board of Trustees.

2013

Fuel kicks off a four year programme New Theatre in Your Neighbourhood to explore ways of improving touring of contemporary work across the UK.

2014

Fuel celebrates its tenth birthday with a special anniversary season across the UK including a festival in London.

2017

Kate McGrath becomes sole leader of the organisation.

2018

Fuel produces 14 projects of which 7 are premieres, reaching 66,000 across the UK and internationally.

2019

Fuel celebrates its 15th birthday with a season of exciting new work reaching over 185,000 audience members across the UK and internationally.

2020

Fuel commits to creatively responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, including a digital world tour of Love Letters at Home & Barber Shop Chronicles.

We aim for our programme to:

• Be curious, beautiful and playful
• Care deeply about the audience’s experience
• Reflect the UK and its people
• Develop brave new voices
• Explore urgent questions
• Shine light in how we relate to each other and the world around us
• Be generous on spirit and dynamic in form
• Be rooted in theatre making
• Support both fresh and faithful collaborations
• Reach people across the UK and beyond

How does Fuel work with artists?

We choose every artist, company or project we produce carefully. Each relationship is different and unique as we try to respond to the needs of each artist individually.

Broadly speaking, there are two key ways in which we work with artists:

On projects we initiate:

We commission artists to work with us on ideas we have. For example, we asked Sabrina Mahfouz, Rachel Mars and Paula Varjack to create three sound installations in collaboration with sound designer Gareth Fry around the theme of female incarceration as part of the University of Warwick’s Tate Exchange Programme in 2018.

With individual artists:

We manage specific projects for artists such as Inua Ellams, Will Adamsdale, Melanie Wilson and David Rosenberg. We raise the money, do the marketing and press, handle the finances, project manage, production manage and administrate each project. We also work with them creatively on the development of each project. We tend to have an ongoing relationship with artists across multiple projects, and the long-term nature of our commitment to these artists reaps great benefits.

"The maverick producing organisation who are prepared to invest in adventurous artists. "

The Herald

"Fuel has helped make producing seem as sexy and playful as writing or directing or devising. "

The Guardian

"One of the most exciting and indispensable producing outfits working in British theatre today. "

The Guardian

"Fuel always starts with the artist and the artist's idea... It's helped both artists and audiences to be more fearless. "

Lyn Gardner

Where does Fuel’s work happen?

The Fuel team is based in a busy office at Somerset House in London. The projects we produce happen in all kinds of places: outdoor shows; workshops and residencies designed for particular groups; national tours to regional venues across all of the UK; and international tours across the globe.