The musical – Artistic Director, Cheryl Martin’s first Red Ladder production since taking the helm in January this year – tells the story of Alland, a young Iranian man who begs to be given sanctuary at a church in northern England, sparking 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?”

The creative team has worked closely with people hoping to call the UK home, shaping Alland’s story. Writers Boff and Sarah spent the past six years collaborating on projects for Welsh National Opera, in partnership with the Oasis Centre for refugees and asylum seekers, to co-create original operas for a more diverse audience, and director Cheryl spent eight years directing women refugees and asylum seekers in shows for Manchester’s Community Arts Northwest.

Earlier this year, Leeds-based Mafwa Theatre ran sessions with the team and students from CAPA College, who then created their own workshops for secondary school pupils, supported by asylum seekers, that have helped shape the production.

This unique collaboration between Red Ladder, Theatre Royal Wakefield and CAPA College, mixes hard-hitting ideas with memorable melodic tunes and harmonies.

Sanctuary welcomes us in and asks the question: “Do we want safety and freedom for only ourselves, or for us all?”
Come on in – the Service is about to begin…

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

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