Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance
Creative Scotland
Award
Amount not published
Deadline
Closes 30 September 2026
Where
Scotland
Summary
The Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance supports professional theatre and dance productions of varying scales to tour across Scotland. Applications are open - deadline: 2pm, Wednesday 30 September 2026.
Who can apply
• Individual dance and theatre artists, producers, companies, consortia of venues presenting a shared touring programme and organisations who are based in Scotland and involved in the production and/or touring of professional live theatre and dance.
Full details
Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance The Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance supports professional theatre and dance productions of varying scales to tour across Scotland. Applications are open - deadline: 2pm, Wednesday 30 September 2026. The Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance supports professional theatre and dance productions of varying scales to tour across Scotland. This includes outdoor, circus, interdisciplinary and site-specific work. You can apply for funding to support: • New productions • Revivals and successful past shows • Productions that have been developed but not yet toured The fund aims to bring high quality performances to more places and people across Scotland, supporting a mix of artists, producers, venues and companies. Guidance and Downloads For full information on the fund, view the guidance for applicants, or download a plain text version of the guidance below, along with the Risk Assessment Form and Budget Template. • Guidance for Applicants • Alternative Formats, Languages, Access Support and Contacting Enquiries • What is the Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance? • Fund Timeline and Background • Eligibility and supported activity • How much can I apply for? • How many applications can I submit? • When should the activity take place? • Information Sessions • How to apply • Supporting Materials, Safeguarding, and Dignity at Work • Your Application - Eligibility and Planning Your Tour • Your Application - Addressing the Criteria • Your Application - Risk and Finance, Budget and Access Costs • Decision Making Process • Appendix 1: Legal and Compliance Requirements • Appendix 2 - Independent Producer Indicative Job Description Guidance for Applicants Use the contents on the left hand side, or the navigation buttons below, to read the guidance for applicants. You can also download a Plain Text version below. Alternative Formats, Languages, Access Support and Contacting Enquiries Creative Scotland is committed to offering clear and accessible application processes that are open to everyone. We have several ways of supporting you in making an application. Alternative Formats and Languages Our published materials, including funding guidance and application forms, can be made available in other formats as required. We can accept applications and supporting materials which are written in English, Gaelic or Scots. To request materials in other formats or languages contact our Enquiries Service by emailing: [email protected] If you are a d/Deaf BSL user, you can access our services with the Contact Scotland-BSL programme. Visit www.contactscotland-bsl.org for more information. Access Support We can help cover the cost of services that support you in applying for our funding. Access support is available to individuals or the lead applicant of a group who are defined as disabled under the Equality Act 2010, such as: • d/Deaf • Hard of hearing • Disabled or living with chronic or mental illness • Neurodivergence (e.g. dyslexia, autism or ADHD). To find out what support is available, and how to request it please visit the Access Support section of our website. If you have any questions, email us at: [email protected] Contacting our Enquiries Service If you require technical support, further information or have any other queries, contact our Enquiries Service by emailing: [email protected] What is the Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance? This fund supports professional theatre and dance productions of varying scales to tour across Scotland. It aims to bring high quality performances to more places and people across Scotland, supporting a mix of artists, producers, venues and companies to develop audiences for Theatre and Dance. This includes outdoor, circus, interdisciplinary and site-specific work. It also aims to reduce risk for producers of tours by providing sufficient funding to cover all touring costs, and to reduce risk for venues and presenters by offering tours on a no-fee basis with a favourable box office income split. The fund supports the touring of brand-new productions and shows in development as well as providing an opportunity for work that has already been produced to be seen by a wider audience or to tour again. The budget for previous rounds of this fund has been set at £2,000,000 and a similar level is anticipated for this round. Key information • Funded work must be offered to venues at no cost, helping reduce risk and increase access. • Venues and promoters must agree to follow the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST) Code of Practice to take part. • Artists and producers must choose venues from the list of those that have signed up to the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST) Code of Practice – view the list on our website. Fund Timeline and Background Fund Timeline • Fund guidance published: 2pm, Wednesday 8 July 2026 • Applications open: 2pm, Wednesday 8 July 2026 • Online information session: 10am – 12noon, Thursday 16 July 2026 • Application deadline: 2pm, Wednesday 30 September 2026 • Decisions: Week commencing 7 December 2026 We strongly advise that you do not submit your application in the final minutes before the deadline. Technical issues (such as slow internet, file upload delays, or unexpected errors) may prevent your application from being received on time. Late submissions cannot be accepted, regardless of the reason. Please plan to submit well in advance to avoid disappointment. Fund Background The fund was created after a 2017 review of Touring Theatre and Dance in Scotland which involved wide consultation with the sector. It aims to address the practical delivery of touring work and is just one part of Scotland’s wider touring system. Since the 2017 review the landscape for touring theatre and dance in Scotland has changed significantly. To better understand this new landscape and the current needs for touring, in 2024, Creative Scotland commissioned an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Touring Fund to examine how well it was achieving its objectives, which was undertaken by Earthen Lamp and published in September 2025. Key findings and recommendations are reflected in our approach to guidance and will continue to inform changes and updates to the fund in the future. A range of work has been supported previously, for more information, see examples of funded work from July 2022, December 2022, December 2023, June 2023 and December 2024, December 2025. Eligibility and supported activity Who can apply? • Individual dance and theatre artists, producers, companies, consortia of venues presenting a shared touring programme and organisations who are based in Scotland and involved in the production and/or touring of professional live theatre and dance. • Independent dance and theatre producers can apply on their own or on behalf of artists. • Venues that are Multi-Year Funded Organisations can be part of a consortium, but their participation must be additional to their core work and benefit the wider group. The lead applicant cannot be a Multi-Year Funded Organisation. • All applicants must have a UK bank account. Please ensure the name on your funding application matches the name on your bank account (organisation name or applicant name, if applying as an individual), as we cannot pay into an account with a different name. Visit the Applicant’s Legal Name page of our website. What constitutes a professional production? For the purposes of this fund, professional productions are considered those in which the project lead and other key roles are fulfilled by individuals with demonstrable experience who are appropriately remunerated. Productions featuring community cast members and/or child performers are only eligible if also featuring professional performers and professionals fulfilling lead and creative roles. Who cannot apply? • Applicants who do not work in the production and/or touring of professional live theatre and dance. • Applicants based outside Scotland. • Applicants seeking funding for tours outside of Scotland. • Multi-Year Funded Organisations whose funding agreement includes making and touring theatre and/or dance. • Applicants relying on a pending or unconfirmed application to Creative Scotland’s Open Funds for Organisations or Individuals (as this represents a high risk to the delivery of the tour). • Student and non-professional companies. What activity can I apply for? The fund supports the creation and touring of live professional theatre and dance in Scotland. This activity includes: • New productions that have yet to be produced and toured. • Co-productions • Please note it is expected that Multi-Year Funded Organisations that are funded to make and tour work will provide a cash contribution as part of the co-production arrangements. • Works-in-progress that have completed research and development and need support to finish before touring. • Tour ready productions that have premi