Month: April 2025

In addition to website restructuring, there have been a number of minor database changes behind the scenes. In order to lay the foundation for future development work, the LSDB team has added constraints to codify the relationship between database tables. In the process of adding these constraints, we identified transcription problems where events were listed without the correct theater code. We revealed thirteen events with incorrect metadata about the theaters they were performed at, which should now be correctly identified in database searches. From a user perspective, these will result in small changes to performance entries, such as the example seen below.

These minor changes were designed to set up a pipeline for larger developments that were in the works. These developments are now being threatened by cuts to our NEH funding. For those who are interested in reading more about these database structural changes, please visit our GitHub repository.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that NEH grant funding for “Extending the London Stage Database” was terminated abruptly earlier this month, as part of a wave of cancellations that has affected nearly all individuals and organizations whose work is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Association for Computers and Humanities has gathered data showing that, since the beginning of this month, NEH has terminated at least 1,434 grants worth $427 million — a number that sounds large, but represents a mere 0.000063% of the federal budget. Multiple news organizations have reported that these terminations are being carried out by operatives of the Department of Government Efficiency, who have placed on leave or fired a majority of NEH staff. 

We received a version of the same form letter that many other grantees have shared with reporters and on social media. It read, in part:

Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination due to several reasonable causes, as outlined in 2CFR§200.340. NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda. The President’s February 19, 2025 executive order mandates that the NEH eliminate all non-statutorily required activities and functions. See Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, E.O. 14217 (Feb. 19, 2025). Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities. The termination of your grant represents an urgent priority for the administration, and due to exceptional circumstances, adherence to the traditional notification process is not possible. Therefore, the NEH hereby terminates your grant in its entirety effective April 2, 2025.

Please remember that your obligations under the Grant Agreement continue to apply. Additionally, an audit may be conducted by the NEH after the termination of your grant. 

Please contact Grant_Notifications@nehemail.onmicrosoft.com with only urgent questions.

Help us defend the London Stage Database!

We are pursuing every avenue available to contest this termination and to seek restoration of the funds. We believe in the importance of this work and will continue to fight to make the records and archives of the London Stage publicly available and accessible for all.

You can help us make the case for the significance of our work:

• drop us a note telling us how you, your colleagues, and your students use the database
• reuse and cite our work with easy-to-follow templates
• subscribe to the LSDB blog and connect with us on Bluesky for the latest news and updates

Learn more and take action

Ours is far from the only important project imperiled by these cuts. We’ve gathered together a few resources for those who wish to read up and get involved. Feel free to share more in the comments!

• Read reporting and analysis from journalists covering this issue. Here are a few places to start:
  • Katina Rogers, “DOGE’s Latest Cuts Will Hit Local Culture Hard” (Slate, April 10) 
  • Margaret Renkl, “These DOGE Cuts Will Cost the American People Something Precious” (New York Times, April 7) 
  • Elizabeth Blair, “Where Did U.S. Humanities Grants Go?” (NPR, April 10) 
• Find out about impacts of the cuts on your community using the Association for Computers and Humanities database of terminated NEH grants
• Check out the National Humanities Alliance “Save the NEH” toolkit 

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