We make theatre that gives a platform to voices that are rarely heard, and stories that are overlooked. Plays that invite you to lean in, identify, punch the air, laugh with the stranger next to you, cry in the dark, and want to take action.

We will go wherever the audience is – from pubs and clubs, to housing estates and theatres with plush velvet seats. We’ll meet you there, for a good night out that ends with you stepping back out into a world that now feels different, full of hope and possibility.

We aim to support and empower writers and theatre makers, enabling them to tell stories that start on their own (often Northern, often working class) doorsteps and take radical leaps of imagination, enlightening and entertaining along the way.

• We give people breaks and take risks – a democratic company that gives people ways in.
• The work is writer-led and we work with, and give a platform to, a wide variety of individuals.

• Theatre is not just a building. We take theatre to places that others can’t or won’t: wherever the audience we want to speak to resides or where our work will be most beneficial.
• We’re unique in our ability to shapeshift. Sometimes playing to 40 people in a tiny space, other times to more than 1,000 in a large auditorium. The work always remaining the same, exceptionally high standard.

• There is nothing more thrilling to us than when a piece of theatre we’ve made genuinely affects an individual – making them feel represented or opening their eyes to a new perspective or possibility.
• We are the opposite of parachute theatre; we build relationships with people – and once welcomed in, we’re there to stay.
• Lots of people have Red Ladder in common – it connects people.

• We are in touch with issues that matter to people – what affects them now. We wish to make a statement of mutual support and solidarity with the people whose stories we’re telling, and who see themselves represented in our work.
• We want to be of benefit to the vulnerable in society. Our work highlights that the world is not a just place – and in doing so suggests that we can and should contribute to making it a fairer one.

Come and see one of our performances, enrol on our training courses, or become a Red Ladder supporter.

Or maybe you’re an artist who needs support, we’d love to work with you if we can. You can find out more here.

Are you a company planning on touring to non-traditional theatre spaces? Head to our For Artists page to find out how we might work together.