Tom Creed — from thriving career to 36 weeks on the PUP

'There is an opportunity to really rebound back and enable artists to achieve the highest level of achievement and protect the most vulnerable,' says Tom Creed. Picture: Ste Murray

Award-winning theatre director, Corkman Tom Creed, has a 20-year career under his belt, yet when the pandemic hit, all of that was put "on pause". He ended up spending 36 weeks on the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) due to Covid-19.

"I was on tour in Cork with Watt, by Samuel Beckett, in The Everyman, and we were due to travel to New Zealand when the pandemic hit," explains Tom.