Nottingham Playhouse has set up a brand-new programme for women refugee and asylum seekers, as part of its renewed Theatre of Sanctuary status. Working with Second Chance Learning Academy, the course was funded by the Welcome Grant from Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service.
The programme was set up to support women develop confidence in using spoken English. The sessions let them safely explore language in a single gender environment.
Between 12-15 women have attended each week, from a wide variety of origin countries, with a freelance participation leader providing stimulus materials and ideas. This can range from spoken word games to improve English language to expressing emotions and experiences through physical movement. Shugufa Afzali and a number of volunteers from Second Chance Learning Academy supported the sessions. The group also visited Nottingham Castle and Nottingham Contemporary, to broaden their horizons on other cultural venues and introduce them to unfamiliar places they may not have felt comfortable visiting previously.
Some of the group also watched A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini recently, a play set during the Afghanistan war, which resonated with many of them. It was also an opportunity to attend a theatre production for the first time, and the feedback was that they felt very welcomed and safe.
Tara Lopez, Director of Participation at Nottingham Playhouse, said:
“We were thrilled to be able to work with Second Chance Learning Academy to support their work around Women’s Confidence with a bespoke series of theatre sessions. Theatre can be a wonderful vehicle for increasing confidence and allowing space for social connection. We hope the project did this for all the participants, as well as increasing their connection with Nottingham Playhouse and the cultural sector as a whole.
“Projects like this are a huge part of how we can ensure new arrivals to Nottingham feel welcome and accepted within our venue – an ongoing commitment that we have made as part of being a Theatre of Sanctuary.”
The participants have found the sessions provide a new and engaging way to learn English and develop self-confidence. Two participants of the prgramme had the following to say:
“The group is very useful for me. The teaching is new and different. Normally, you write all the time and save it, and when you finish, you don’t remember anything. But the group very useful because they have new good ideas for teaching.”
“For me, the group is very excellent group because our teacher is best one, her teaching process is very nice. It encourages and enhances the ability to have conversation with others and interact confidently. In this class, we behave like we did in our childhood. We can relax, no tension, forget about family, we enjoy it here like we are small kids.”
In addition to the Women’s Confidence group, Nottingham Playhouse has also hosted Second Chance Learning’s two International Women’s Day events, a Job Fair and an Asylum Seeker’s Welcome Event. It is hoped that the Women’s Confidence in Theatre Group can continue with further funding. Second Chance Learning are launching a new project for Women Asylum Seekers in September, which will also be hosted by Nottingham Playhouse. Other ongoing projects include the Conversation Café, a weekly drop-in facility open to all refugees and asylum seekers, to help improve their English, meet others and feel welcome in a safe space.
Posted on 28 August 2025
