Manchester-based comedian/promoter/drag queen Red Redmond has set up a fund to help northern working class comics who have been hit hard by the #Covid19 crisis and the collapse of the live comedy circuit. 

Unlike a lot of the industry Redmond works directly for a venue and has been eligible for the government's furlough scheme. They have saved up £500 to start the fund which was made available yesterday. Since then Redmond has received over £100 in donations. Every penny of this will go towards supplying less fortunate comedians with the best value equipment they can provide.

The fund has four patrons: Stephen Bailey, Lauren Pattison, Amy Gledhill and Rob Mulholland. "All four are fantastic examples of young successful comedians from working class backgrounds. They fully endorse our fund and will occasionally work as consultants to make sure we are delivering the best resources we possibly can to our beneficiaries," says Redmond.

This fund is available to comedians who live or work in “The North” of England. All applicants must be from a working class background or currently struggling financially. All applicants must have worked as a comedian either part-time or full-time at the time the UK went into lockdown. This fund will be used to provide anything from: microphones, video lights, webcams, usb mixers, tripods etc… Each applicant is limited to one item. All items have an advisory max cost of £50.

All applications must be sent by e-mail to [email protected] - Please include links to previous work and your full comedy CV. Please also say what equipment you are lacking, what you plan to do with it and whether you have seen anything you think would be suitable.

You can donate to the fund here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-real-northern-powerhouse