Last night, at Wakefield Theatre Royal I had the pleasure of attending the premiere of Sanctuary, the Red Ladder Theatre Company’s latest production. This timely and moving piece of musical theatre confronts one of the most pressing and divisive issues facing the UK – and much of Western Europe today – immigration and asylum. It’s a problem that in recent times has nearly torn the country apart.
This powerful new musical was written by Boff Whalley (We’re Not Going Back) and award-winning playwright Sarah Woods. Directed by Cheryl Martin, the company’s new artistic director, it tells the poignant story of Alland (played by Aein Nasseri), a young Iranian who seeks refuge in a church in northern England. His desperate plea for sanctuary sparks a range of responses from the surrounding community, each convinced their reaction is the right one.
Sanctuary: ideals of compassion
Molly (Ingrid Bolton-Gabrielsen), a young worker at the church, teams up with vicar Fiona (Emily Chattle) to defend Alland against both aggressive vigilantes and unyielding authorities. Together, they fight to protect him, holding the line between compassion and the harsh realities of state policy.
In a powerful community service scene, voices from all sides – those offering redemption and those calling for condemnation – come together, as Fiona poses the key question: “Do we hand Alland over to the state, or do we live up to our ideals of compassion and offer him protection?”
The creative team behind Sanctuary has worked closely with refugees and asylum seekers to shape Alland’s story, giving the production a resonant authenticity. Boff Whalley and Sarah Woods spent six years collaborating with the Welsh National Opera and refugee organisations like the Oasis Centre, creating original works for more diverse audiences. Cheryl Martin herself brings experience from her years directing women refugees in shows for Manchester’s Community Arts Northwest.
Sanctuary’s memorable music
Earlier this year, Leeds-based Mafwa Theatre also collaborated on the project, running workshops with students from Wakefield’s CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) College, who in turn helped craft workshops for secondary schools, supported by asylum seekers. This engagement has infused Sanctuary with a unique blend of perspectives, making the production not just a performance but a broader dialogue on a vital issue.
Featuring a chorus drawn from the talented students of CAPA College, the production combines hard-hitting themes with memorable music and stirring harmonies. Whalley’s melodies work to draw the audience in, turning a complex, often grim, topic into something entertaining and accessible. As Whalley himself says, “Music is such a powerful tool; it can cross divides and patch up differences”.
Cheryl Martin’s vision is clear. “Sanctuary comes at a critical moment in the conversation about immigration, refugees, and asylum seekers”, she says. “This musical is meant to open up that conversation because it goes to the heart of who we are and what kind of society we want to live in.”
Co-writer Sarah Woods echoes this sentiment. “There’s so much hostility in the media when it comes to immigration, and we wanted to offer audiences a different perspective. Many asylum seekers are here because they’ve stood up to oppression, showing a courage that we could all learn from. Their stories have the power to change the world.”
Red Ladder Theatre Company: from 1968 to the present
As the UK remains embroiled in heated debates over small boats, hostile environments, and the ongoing refugee crisis, Sanctuary is asking us to consider: do we want safety and freedom just for ourselves, or for everyone? The work invites us to reflect on who we are as a nation and urges us to embrace compassion over fear.
Red Ladder was born in 1968 – as the company says: “A turbulent, era-defining year. The world was in turmoil – the Vietnam War, the Prague Spring, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood. It felt like a light was going out on the hopes and dreams of the 60s… Red Ladder gave its first ever performance on the day of the Grosvenor Square anti-Vietnam protest and has carried on fighting, agitating and entertaining ever since.”
There is certainly no less a need for the Red Ladder ethos today. Their aim is to create theatre for the many, not the few, to inspire people and communities, highlight injustice and drive social change.
Sanctuary is touring widely in the UK. A full list of dates can be found here.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
