A stained glass window depicting a police man on the left looking over his shoulder, on the other side a female vicar looking and young woman in the middle with her arms closed dressed to clean. Looking up at the window is the small silhouette of a man

Sanctuary

19 Sep - 9 Nov 2024

From the
Shows Archive

Traditionally, churches across the world have offered sanctuary to those seeking safety from persecution. But how do we react when that ideal becomes a reality?

When Alland, a young Iranian man, begs to be given sanctuary at St Mary’s church in a northern town, it sparks a community to react in all the ways each member believes to be right. Molly, a young worker there, joins forces with vicar Fiona to resist both the angry vigilantes and the hard-hearted authorities beyond the church walls to try to protect Alland. 

Holding a special community service where voices on all sides sing their songs of redemption and condemnation, Fiona asks the question to everyone present: do we give Alland over to the State or live up to our well-versed ideals of compassion?   

Sanctuary is a brand-new musical that welcomes us in and asks the question: do we want safety and freedom for only ourselves, or for us all? A vital story of one man’s hopes for help and support in a time when not all strangers are welcomed.

With a chorus drawn from students at Wakefield’s CAPA College, Boff Whalley (‘We’re Not Going Back’) and Sarah Woods’ musical mixes hard-hitting ideas with memorable melodic tunes and harmonies. 

Come on in – the Service is about to begin…

Kindly supported by the Mayor of West Yorkshire’s Safer Communities Fund.

All performances captioned via The Difference Engine, a tool that enables d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people to read performance captions on their phone. 

Age guidance 12+

Warning: violence & violent, aggressive, threatening behaviour. Derogatory language about immigrants and some ethnic minorities.

#Sanctuary

Post-show Q&As with director Cheryl Martin and local groups supporting asylum seekers at Theatre Royal Wakefield 20th September, St. Mary’s Parish Church 28th September and Lawrence Batley Theatre 23rd October.

 

 

L-R Emily Chattle (Fiona), CAPA College Chorus (Vox) & Aein Nasseri (Alland) credit Robling Photography
A group of young people in white lifting their hands to a glowing coloured stained glass shape
Watch the official trailer here