What is it?

Theatre Digs will be a fun, warm and light-hearted collection of short stories from a variety of contributors about their experiences of living in and providing theatre digs.

We’re asking for submissions from anyone and everyone. Whether you have stayed in digs or provided them, if you have a tale that simply has to be shared, get in touch and tell us all!

A book will be created with proceeds from the sale going to Actor’s Benevolent Fund. It will be a campy and entertaining anthology of human connection. Think Withnail & I meets The Mortified Guide.

The collection will be generous, celebratory and diverse with room for a forward and nuanced closing thoughts penned by notable individuals.

In future, we want to stage readings from the book in a big, stand-up, joy-party of an evening. If you’re a venue who would like to support one of these events get in touch on the email below.

Theatre Digs

Hi, thanks for visiting!

Here you can find out about the Theatre Digs project, who is behind it and how to get involved.

The Theatre Digs logo- a graphic of an unmade bed with orange covers is lit from above by a theatre spotlight on a dark plum background. The text ‘Theatre Digs’ in capitalised pink lettering is in the centre of the image.

How do I get involved?

You can submit your story in a number of ways:

Please keep your story to under 500 written words or 3 minutes of spoken words

The first round of submissions closes on January 5th 2025. We will be in touch after that date and as soon as possible to let you know next steps. We’re juggling this project with full-time jobs so thank you for bearing with us.

We want people of all ages and experiences to get involved so please spread the word!

Why are you doing this?!

Digs are a peculiar phenomenon particular to theatre and we’d love this book to be a nostalgic trip into its weird and wonderful world. A compilation of the extraordinary, eccentric and often poignant experiences that take place when strangers live together, united by their love of theatre.

For lots of artists, theatre companies and venues, putting on shows simply isn’t possible without the generosity of theatre-lovers providing low-cost theatre digs. We hope this book will reinvigorate the digs trend, providing affordable accommodation and unbelievable anecdotes for years to come.

Erm, sorry, who are you?

We are Jess and Charli, two theatre-makers with over 30-years of experience between us.

Following the impact of the cost of living crisis and a changing theatre landscape over the last few years, we’ve had to take a step back from theatre as our main source of income and where we spend the majority of our working time.

This book serves as a path back into a culture that we feel disconnected from. We hope that it will provide a contemplative space to congregate for others who feel distanced too.

Also, we think it will be very, very funny.

Charli, a white woman in her 30s smiles warmly. She is wearing a flower crown of real, small red carnations. Her navy jumper has a thick, tall neck.
Jess, a white woman in her 30s, smiles broadly. In the background is a pebble beach and the sea. Jess is wearing a turquoise swimming costume and an Adidas tracksuit jacket.

Submission Form

Please keep your story to under 500 words.

The first round of submissions closes on January 5th 2025.

The front page of the 'Theatre Digs writers callout Easy Read Guide'. The Theatre Digs logo- a graphic of an unmade bed with orange covers is lit from above by a theatre spotlight on a dark plum background- is large and centre on the page.
The second page of the 'Theatre Digs writers callout Easy Read Guide'. A table of 2 columns- words on the right, pictures on the left.
A logo. The text 'Actors' Benevolent Fund' in blue script font.