Sir Mark Rylane among leftie luvvies to call for Old Vic theatre to axe sponsor linked to fossil fuels

Sir Mark Rylance is among a slew of left-wing luvvies to have signed a virtue-signalling open letter calling on the Old Vic theatre to axe a key sponsor linked to the fossil fuel industry.

The Oscar-winning actor of stage and screen, 64, and fellow actors Paapa Essiedu and Stephen Dillane are among 80 creatives to call on the historic London theatre to end its association with its main financial backer, the Royal Bank of Canada, citing the hundreds of billions of dollars the bank has pumped into fossil fuel projects in recent years.

Sir Mark, who was knighted in 2016, and his fellow actors also hit out at RBC holding ‘billions of dollars of shares’ in weapons firms which are arming Israel amid its war against Hamas in Gaza.

In the letter, first reported by the Observer newspaper, they wrote: ‘The Old Vic, an institution with a prominent and influential role in the arts world, is helping to both enhance the reputation and further the business of one of the world’s biggest financiers of fossil fuel development and investors in war.

‘As those working in theatre and the arts, we recognise that funding pressures across the sector are acute and that the Old Vic in particular is more reliant upon commercial and private sources of income. However, we have now seen numerous arts and cultural organisations draw clear ethical red lines and shift away from unethical sponsors and donors.’

Fellow actor Paapa Essiedu (pictured at a photocall in London last month) also signed the letter

But an RBC spokesman hit back at the letter’s claims and said the bank is already giving billions of dollars to the renewable energy sector and plans to do more in the future.

The bank said it intends to ‘to triple our lending for renewable energy across capital markets and commercial banking from $5bn to $15bn and grow low-carbon lending to $35bn by 2030’.

It insisted that before it invests in a project, it conducts ‘due diligence’ as to any environment and social impacts and how they might be ‘minimised, mitigated or offset’.

It is not the first time Sir Mark – who has been involved in several productions at the Old Vic and its sister venue in Bristol and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Bridge of Spies – has rebelled against the creative industry’s choice of sponsors.

In 2019, he quit his long-held relationship with the Royal Shakespeare company due to its tie-up with BP, which ended later that year.

The luvvie letter is the latest instalment in a heated debate over how Britain’s creative and cultural industry is financed.

The Hay Literary Festival was recently pressured into cutting ties with its key sponsor, Baillie Gifford, the investment management firm, over its financial associations with Israel and fossil fuel companies.

Among 80 creatives are calling on the historic London theatre (pictured) to end its association with its main financial backer, the Royal Bank of Canada , citing the hundreds of billions of dollars the bank has pumped into fossil fuel projects in recent years

But after Baillie Gifford stepped back from other literary festivals, including Cheltenham, bosses warned that without their backing ‘ticket prices would increase, schools programmes would reduce in scope’ and ‘some festivals would close’.

The Old Vic said: ‘We respect the varied views of our colleagues within the creative community.

‘As a registered charity with no regular public subsidy, the Old Vic is reliant on ticket sales and philanthropic and corporate donations.

‘We work with a variety of partners to further our mission: to enable anyone to experience, make and benefit from theatre.’