Stage Door 10
This year, Good Chance turns 10. A decade since we first came together in the Calais Jungle refugee camp, believing in the power of theatre to connect, to question, and to create real change.
To mark this milestone, we’re launching our boldest initiative yet: Stage Door 10 - a national programme placing 10 creatives from refugee backgrounds in paid roles across 10 of the UK’s leading theatres and arts organisations.
Together with our brilliant partners - Bradford Producing Hub, Chichester Festival Theatre, Common/Wealth Theatre, Garsington Opera, Jermyn Street Theatre, Nimax Theatres, Norwich Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Theatre Royal Plymouth - we’re creating pathways for a new generation of diverse talent in the industry.
Who It’s For
Stage Door 10 is for creatives from refugee backgrounds ready to take the next or first step in their arts careers. Whether it’s directing, designing, tech, producing or costume – the traineeships are paid, practical and embedded in real theatre teams.
Each placement is shaped around the individual, offering not just experience, but genuine connection, mentorship, and the chance to build a future in the sector.
Why Now?
People with lived experience of displacement face 20-fold barriers to accessing a career in the arts. With Stage Door 10 we’re not just supporting the training of individuals, we’re training the sector; giving our partners the tools, awareness and confidence to keep welcoming displaced talent long after this programme ends. In the last 10 years, Good Chance have created 14 placements through our Stage Door programme, but we’re ready to reach and impact on an even more ambitious level.
Led by Lived Experience
Our new Deputy Artistic Director, Elias Matar, a Palestinian theatre-maker and drama therapist, is at the heart of Stage Door 10. His trauma-informed approach is vital in shaping the journey of each participant and ensuring this programme truly responds to the needs of those it serves.
As Elias puts it:
“Stage Door 10 is flexible, inclusive and deeply human – shaped by the people in it. It creates space for radical change in our creative industry, making it more welcoming and more representative.”
What Next?
We see Stage Door 10 as just the beginning. 10 placements may be more than we’ve ever delivered in one year, but we’re ready to show the UK that refugee artists belong not just in stories on our stages, but in the teams who make those stories come to life.
We’re holding the Stage Door open, and we can’t wait to see who steps through.
