A THEATRE company which works in Bradford has been awarded a £100,000 grant.

The money, from Arts Council England, will be invested in Northern Lines and will be used to develop its structure to support the team to capitalise on current and future opportunities.

In total, Arts Council England is investing £4.3 million of National Lottery funding in 45 diverse-led organisations across the country, with the aim of enhancing diversity in the arts and cultural sector.

The funding comes from its Elevate programme and the budget for the latest round was increased due to the strength of applications received.

The aim was to specifically address the under-representation of people with disabilities and people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds - 41 of the 45 organisations receiving funding are BME and/or disability-led.

The group started with community theatre projects in Bradford and now tours internationally.

Since it began, productions have included Orgreave: An English Civil War, which used music, movement, spoken word and theatre to tell the story of the Battle of Orgreave and the miners’ strike; Hole, which was based on Bradford’s notorious city centre ‘hole’ and The Believers Are But Brothers, an interactive play which explored what leads people to online extremism.

Artistic director Javaad Alipoor, who is dual heritage himself, said the grant means the company can have roots in the different cities it’s based in and “hopefully do some really cool projects back in Bradford”.

He highlighted the importance of making the cultural sector look like the country and said: “Our audience in Bradford - it represents the city.”

But he said there are barriers for under-represented communities, particularly when class and ethnicity cross over.

“It’s a challenge for the culture sector more broadly - we need to make the sector look like our country does. It’s a question that’s broader than theatre.”

Abid Hussain, director of diversity at Arts Council England said: “Supporting and nurturing diverse talent is a crucial priority for the Arts Council; through Elevate we are investing in an exciting pipeline of diverse organisations that make a vital contribution to the country’s cultural provision, empowering under-represented voices.

“I’m particularly pleased to note the increased scale of our Elevate funding, which demonstrates our continued ambition to create a more inclusive cultural sector which produces work relevant to people from all communities and backgrounds.”