Saskia Ross, whose crowdfunding campaign for their graduate degree at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) attracted the support of award-winning actors such as Sir Ian McKellen, has successfully exceeded their £10,000 fundraising goal on GoFundMe.

The campaign, which received 279 donors in the two months since its launch, aimed to raise a portion of the £24,000 needed to fully fund an MFA in professional acting from LAMDA.

Saskia announced on Facebook that their fundraising goal has been “officially met and surpassed” with donations from prominent figures in drama and acting, namely Sir Nicholas Hytner, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Richard Stilgoe, Sir Stephen Whaley-Cohen, Michael Frayn, Lisa Spirling, and John Cassy.

The decision of Sir Nicholas Hytner to donate £1,000 to Saskia completed and surpassed their fundraising goal.

Sir Richard Stilgoe, while agreeing to donate, had also referred Saskia’s story to Dame Judi Dench, writing in a letter that “I was so impressed I rang my friend Judi Dench and told her about you [...] she has already said she will give you £500”. He had also recommended other potential donors for Saskia to approach, with a reminder that they should mention that he and Dame Judi Dench had sponsored them.

During their undergraduate years, Ross was an active member of the Cambridge theatre scene.

They created the Cambridge BME Theatre Group, which provides a space for students of colour to share creative ideas in “a safe community of like-minded people” and also directed Cambridge’s first ever BME Shakespeare performance, alongside appearing in numerous productions themselves.