Open Clasp Theatre Company

What Open Clasp Theatre Company does

Open Clasp Theatre Company is a UK-registered not-for-profit charitable organisation (Charity No. 1108000; Company No. 05137687) founded in 1998 by Catrina McHugh MBE and headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne. The company co-creates feminist theatre, film, and training programmes with women and girls from marginalised communities—particularly those with lived experience of the criminal justice system, domestic abuse, homelessness, sex work, and learning disabilities—using a participatory devisal methodology that positions participants as experts in their own lives and a verbatim interview technique to translate lived experience into dramatic work. Its output comprises touring live productions (20+ since 1998 including Sugar, Rattle Snake, Key Change, Mycelial, Rupture), digital film content distributed via Drama Online (global) and BBC iPlayer (UK), and commissioned drama-based training programmes delivered to institutional buyers including police forces (Cleveland Police up to ~1,000 officers, Durham Constabulary), universities (Durham, Sunderland), and domestic-abuse service providers (Women's Aid, Harbour, Partners of Prisoners).

The business model is grant- and donation-funded rather than commercial: Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status anchors core multi-year funding and was re-awarded in 2017 after a competitive process. Core funding is supplemented by trusts and foundations (Comic Relief, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Community Foundation, Sir James Knott Trust, Big Lottery Awards for All, Bruce Wake Trust, Hedley Foundation), statutory funders (Newcastle City Council), corporate partnerships, individual donations via PayPal and CAF, Easyfundraising affiliate revenue, and ancillary ticket/streaming income. The company operates with a small core team of approximately 11 staff supplemented by 11 trustees and an extended network of associate artists.

Name

Open Clasp Theatre Company

Legal name

Open Clasp Theatre Company

Website

https://openclasp.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Clasp Theatre Company is a UK-registered charity founded in 1998 that co-creates feminist theatre, film, and training programmes with marginalised women and girls to challenge gender injustice, serving survivors of abuse, police forces, universities, and public audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community & Amateur Theatre (MPAGABAD), Alternative Content Exhibition (Live Broadcasts, Concert Films, Sports, Opera) (MPADAKAG), Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking) (MPAGABAM)

Keywords

• Feminist theatre production
• Gender justice advocacy
• Drama-based training
• Community co-creation
• Nonprofit performing arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle Upon Tyne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Charitable donations from individuals via PayPal and CAF Donate. The organization relies on support from change-making supporters as a registered charity.
2. Trust, Foundation and Statutory Funding: Support from Trusts, Foundations, and Statutory Funders including Arts Council England, Comic Relief, Community Foundation, Newcastle City Council, Sir James Knott Trust.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners and donors who support the mission. Acknowledged on website as part of supporter family.
4. Easyfundraising: Shopping-based fundraising where retailers donate a percentage of purchases to the charity at no extra cost to supporters.
5. Ticket Sales and Digital Access: Revenue from live performances and digital content available via Drama Online and ticket purchases for online streaming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Open Clasp Theatre Company co-creates feminist theatre productions and films with women and girls from marginalised communities, using their lived experiences to address gender justice, domestic abuse, and systemic inequality. The company produces touring live theatre, films distributed on Drama Online and BBC iPlayer, and delivers drama-based training programmes for police officers, prison staff, social workers, and other professionals on issues such as coercive control and domestic violence. The organisation operates as a registered charity (Charity Number 1108000) funded through grants, donations, and corporate partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rupture (Live Tour and Film Tour) A one-woman theatre production co-created with women from HMP Low Newton about the experiences of mothers in prison, available as a live touring show and as a filmed version for digital audiences and training. Aimed at general theatre audiences, policymakers, prisons, and training/awareness contexts.
• Mycelial First major international theatre production by Open Clasp, co-created with sex work activists across three countries. Performed for live audiences and partners in the third sector to amplify sex worker voices and influence policy.
• Us Too: Alisha's Story and Work Force Development Programme A training film and accompanying workforce development programme co-created with women with learning disabilities and/or autism, used by police, social services, and safeguarding organisations to improve responses to sexual violence cases involving neurodivergent women.
• Lasagna A theatre production co-created with women who have lost children to the care system, exploring themes of community, motherhood, and the child welfare system. Toured to theatres and community venues in 2023.
• Sugar (Film Trilogy) A three-part filmed theatre trilogy co-created with women experiencing homelessness, probation, and prison, distributed via BBC iPlayer and used by organisations for training and awareness-raising.
• Rattle Snake A theatre production and digital film about coercive controlling domestic abuse, used by over 100 organisations for training and awareness-raising and watched online by over 27,000 people in 35 countries.
• Key Change Award-winning theatre production devised with women in HMP Low Newton, performed to male prisons, theatres, and Houses of Parliament to influence policy on women in the criminal justice system. Distributed globally via Drama Online.
• Drama-based Training Programmes Professional training using Open Clasp's theatre productions to train police officers (Cleveland Police, Durham Constabulary), prison staff, social workers, and university cohorts on domestic abuse and coercive controlling behaviour. Developed in partnership with universities and policing bodies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 180,000 women and girls reached since 1998; 5000+ people reached annually; 191 community groups, universities and schools partnered
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Become The BridgeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2026Open Clasp became a member of Become The Bridge organization
• Sex Work Activists (Aotearoa/New Zealand, Ireland, UK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Co-created Mycelial with sex work activists from three countries - first major international production
• Red Umbrella EireannminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Sex work alliance partner for Mycelial production; provided endorsement quote
• Sex Work Alliance IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Sex work alliance partner for Mycelial production; provided endorsement quote
• Durham UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership for Us Too: Alisha's Story production and training development
• Sunderland UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership for Us Too: Alisha's Story training programme
• ARC EnglandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership for Us Too: Alisha's Story created with women with learning disabilities/autism
• Jacqueline de Rojas CBEminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2019President of techUK became External Advisor; brings digital leadership expertise to the organisation
• Dame Vera Baird QC / Victims' CommissionercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Co-signed letter with Open Clasp urging all police forces to watch Rattle Snake during 16 Days of Activism
• Nicole Jacobs / Domestic Abuse CommissionercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Co-signed letter with Open Clasp urging police forces to watch Rattle Snake during UN campaign
• Women's AidcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018National partnership to raise awareness of coercive control; joint panel discussions; Rattle Snake screenings
• Collective Studios (Los Angeles)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 5 April 2018Produced Key Change in Los Angeles; makes theatre for social change; ensured women's voices represented as intended
• Queen's Hall ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Commissioning partner for Don't Forget the Birds; seed commission for the production
• Black Theatre LiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Toured Don't Forget the Birds as part of Black Theatre Live consortium
• The Space (BBC/Arts Council digital agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Digital commissioning agency that partnered to film Key Change for global online distribution
• York Theatre RoyalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Associate company for Rattle Snake production; hosted Key Change in 2015 which led to Houses of Parliament performance
• West End Women & Girls CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Long-term community partner of over 20 years; hosts workshops and performances; women from the centre regularly inform productions
• Live TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Co-production partner for Key Change and Rattle Snake; first venue to host Open Clasp plays in 1998; long-term association including co-producing Don't Forget the Birds
• Frantic AssemblyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Collaborated on Jumping Puddles production; worked with young women throughout the project

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Clean Break Theatre Company: UK theatre company that produces work with and for women with experience of the criminal justice system. Direct peer given Open Clasp's co-creation work with women in HMP Low Newton and shared gender justice and criminal justice focus.
• Mind the Gap: One of the UK's leading learning disability and autism performance companies, producing theatre and training. Direct peer to Open Clasp's Us Too: Alisha's Story, co-created with women with learning disabilities and autism.
• Cardboard Citizens: Theatre company working with people affected by homelessness and the criminal justice system using Forum Theatre and direct engagement. Direct peer to Open Clasp's Sugar production made with women experiencing homelessness, probation and prison.
• Geese Theatre Company: UK theatre-in-education company using drama to work with offenders, young people at risk, and professionals in criminal justice settings. Comparable to Open Clasp's Rattle Snake training and police officer programmes on coercive control.
• Theatre Centre: London-based touring theatre company producing work for young audiences on social issues, including gender and identity. Comparable to Open Clasp's school touring and education-segment productions.
• Kali Theatre: Theatre company supporting Asian women writers and producing new work with women from South Asian backgrounds. Direct peer to Open Clasp's feminist co-creation model and Songlines work with women from minority communities in the North East.
• 20 Stories High: Theatre company based in Liverpool creating work with young people from socially excluded backgrounds. Direct peer to Open Clasp's Jumping Puddles and youth-focused co-creation methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Out of Joint: Theatre company producing new plays and touring them nationally and internationally, often on social and political themes. Comparable to Open Clasp's touring productions and international presence via Key Change in New York.
• Pilot Theatre: Established regional touring theatre company based in York producing contemporary drama for young people. Comparable to Open Clasp's regional touring model and partner York Theatre Royal, though wider in genre.
• Paines Plough: National touring theatre company producing new plays, with a trustee link to Open Clasp. Broader in scope than Open Clasp but comparable in commissioning-and-touring model for new writing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OpenClasp
• Facebookfacebook.com/openclasp
• Instagraminstagram.com/openclasptheatre
• YouTubeyoutube.com/openclasptheatre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-clasp-theatre-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Clasp Theatre Company