Theatre Royal Plymouth partners with Good Chance Theatre to support creatives from refugee backgrounds
In its 10th anniversary year, pioneering refugee-led arts charity Good Chance Theatre is launching a landmark initiative: Stage Door 10. This national training programme will place 10 people from displaced backgrounds in paid creative traineeships with 10 of the UK’s leading theatre and arts organisations, including Theatre Royal Plymouth (TRP).
Partnering with TRP, Bradford Producing Hub, Chichester Festival Theatre, Common/Wealth Theatre, Garsington Opera, Jermyn Street Theatre, Nimax Theatres, Norwich Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Good Chance is leading the call for deep, structural change in how the UK arts sector recruits and supports emerging talent from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, Good Chance co-Founders, said: “10 placements is more than we’ve ever supported with a Stage Door placement in one year, but we’re ready to nurture the next generation of creative industry professionals.
“At a time when our country is increasingly polarised around migration, we’re incredibly proud to be working with such bold, brilliant partners making a clear and public commitment to inclusion, access and the belief that displaced artists belong in our theatres, both on and off stage. Stage Door 10 allows us to spread Good
Chance’s message of hope and radical inclusion nationwide, and this is only the beginning. We are thrilled to launch our most ambitious year yet.”
Founded in the Calais Jungle refugee camp in 2015, Good Chance has become a key voice in refugee-led theatre in the UK and globally. Over the last decade, without regular public subsidy, the charity has provided 1-2-1 support to over 180 refugee artists in the UK and offered paid employment and training to more than 760 artists from refugee and migrant backgrounds. In addition to engaging millions of people around the world with previously untold stories in award-winning, internationally renowned productions and public artworks including The Jungle, The Walk with Little Amal and Kyoto. Through long-term Artist Development programmes like the Good Chance Ensemble, the organisation tackles the 20-fold barriers refugees face when entering the arts, offering a route into a sector that often overlooks displaced voices. Stage Door 10 expands this work by embedding young refugees directly into teams across production, direction, design, technical, and administrative roles - ensuring they gain hands-on experience and build meaningful, long-term industry connections.
With a mix of open calls and tailored recruitment through local networks, the programme reflects Good Chance’s commitment to access, equity and practical change. Crucially, Stage Door 10 is not just about training individuals. It’s about training the sector - equipping partner theatres and organisations with the tools, confidence and cultural awareness to continue welcoming refugee and migrant talent long after Stage Door 10 ends.
The programme is being supported and facilitated by Good Chance’s newly appointed
Deputy Artistic Director, Elias Matar - a Palestinian theatre-maker and drama therapist
originally from the Galilee, who moved to the UK 10 years ago. Elias brings with him a
wealth of experience in applied theatre and arts leadership across the charitable sector. His trauma-informed approach and background in drama therapy have made him an essential pastoral figure within Stage Door 10, supporting young participants as they navigate their creative journeys. Drawing on his own experience of intergenerational displacement, Elias creates inclusive spaces that centre care, empowerment, and deep artistic connection.
Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson continued: “Elias is not only an extraordinary theatre-maker, but someone whose values and lived experience align so powerfully with our work. We’re excited to build the next decade of Good Chance with him.”
Elias Matar, Good Chance Deputy Artistic Director, said: "I see Stage Door 10 as the perfect example of a programme flexible enough to accommodate the challenges faced by displaced artists, supporting them to introduce their art, start their journey, or build on it, and leave their mark. Shaped by the abilities and needs of both partners and trainees, Stage Door 10 also creates a new space for conversation and understanding - one that drives real, radical change in our creative industry, making it more inclusive and welcoming. What better way to mark 10 years of Good Chance than by deepening a mission that enriches everyone involved!"
Lucy Howe, Director of Partnerships & Philanthropy at TRP, said: “It's a privilege to be part of Good Chance's Stage Door 10 Programme and support someone of a refugee background who is in the early stages of their career. Plymouth is a designated ‘dispersal city’, and we know that many refugees and asylum seekers come to Plymouth to find a new home. Here at TRP, we want to ensure that a newly arrived creative or artist will have an opportunity to build a community and a future in the theatre. The theatre is such a lively place, no two days are the same. We're excited to find a suitable candidate with the right creative background to join our team and let them try out a range of activities depending on their skills."
