Felix Barrett and Colin Marsh
Total Breakthrough Fund support: £320,000
The Breakthrough grant was awarded to Felix and Colin in 2008 at a time when the company had not yet been funded in any way. It allowed them to pay themselves their first ever salaries as Artistic and Executive Directors of Punchdrunk, and to create the role of Enrichment Director to set up Punchdrunk’s fledgling Enrichment Programme. Just after the Breakthrough Fund decision, the company then also attracted regular funding from Arts Council England for the first time.
During the three years of the grant which completed in 2011, Punchdrunk undertook a number of major commissions in the UK and internationally, attracting growing attention and profile for their distinctive form of immersive theatre. In the final year of the Breakthrough grant, support for organisational development was also given, to help respond to the demands of the company’s rapid growth.
