London theatre to host installation that exposes how DWP austerity measures led to countless deaths

A major London theatre is to host an installation that exposes how Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) austerity measures caused countless deaths of benefit claimants, just as the new government tries to push through a new wave of spending cuts.

It will be the first time the award-winning mixed reality installation Museum of Austerity has been shown at a London theatre.

It was announced by The Young Vic Theatre yesterday (Wednesday) as part of its 2025-26 season, with Nadia Fall, the theatre’s new artistic director, describing Museum of Austerity as “an emotional and necessary work”.

Museum of Austerity uses the verbal testimony of family members and state-of-the-art technology to recreate the circumstances that led to the deaths of disabled claimants of benefits in the post-2010 decade of austerity.

The installation uses recorded interviews and ground-breaking “volumetric capture” techniques that have produced high-quality, three-dimensional images.

It focuses on the stories of claimants whose deaths have all previously been linked by Disability News Service (DNS) to flaws in DWP’s assessments, sanctions and safeguarding systems.

A number of supporting events will accompany the run, including an event with Imogen Day and Dr China Mills from the Deaths by Welfare project at Healing Justice Ldn.

Imogen Day’s sister Philippa, whose story is featured in the installation, died in October 2019.

A coroner later concluded that flaws in the disability benefits system were “the predominant factor and the only acute factor” that led to her taking her own life.

Other claimants whose stories are featured include Faiza Ahmed, whose suicide in 2014 exposed flaws in DWP’s safeguarding system, and David Clapson, who died after being left destitute when his benefits were sanctioned.

Museum of Austerity will run in The Young Vic’s Maria Studio between 5 December and 16 January 2026.

The installation is a co-production of English Touring Theatre, the National Theatre’s Immersive Storytelling Studio, and Trial & Error Studio.

It was a finalist in the XR History Awards, nominated for Best Digital Innovation at the UK Theatre Awards and won International Documentary Festival Amsterdam’s Best Immersive Production.

*John Pring, editor of DNS, is specialist advisor and co-editor of Museum of Austerity

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