ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

STAGE DOOR

Stage Door is Good Chance Theatre’s flagship programme dedicated to creating bespoke paid trainee opportunities for creatives from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds. The programme celebrates and nurtures creative industry professionals while addressing the imbalance of opportunities available to people who have been displaced.

What is Stage Door?

Stage Door is an opportunity created by Good Chance for people from refugee backgrounds to participate in bespoke traineeships to develop their skills, networks and professional experience.

Stage Door Trainees are welcomed either into the Good Chance team or the team of one of our partners for 3-6 months to learn new skills, get involved in artistic projects and meet new people. Placements will be based at the Good Chance offices in Shoreditch, East London, or with partner organisations in other theatres, arts organisations or even on film sets!

Some of the placements we offer on projects or with partners will need some previous experience, depending on the department and role. But eligibility for the core Stage Door programme in the Good Chance office isn’t based on having specific experience in theatre, the creative industry or with a charity. Instead, you’ll need to prove a commitment to learning, being a team player and ready to get involved with different tasks and activities.

Read our feature in The Stage, which covers our partnership with the Mo Siewcharran Fund and Creative Access.

“Good Chance is more than a community, for me. Through Stage Door I have found a brilliant family where everyone is excited to learn and share. This is my first job experience in the UK after leaving my country and everything behind. I have learnt so much about teamwork and communication, networking and creating hope through art.”

- Amir, Stage Door Production and Marketing Assistant

Stage Door 11

In 2025, to mark Good Chance’s 10th anniversary, we launched Stage Door 10, a national training programme that placed 10 people from displaced backgrounds in paid creative traineeships with 10 of the UK’s leading theatre and arts organisations: Bradford Producing Hub, Chichester Festival Theatre, Common/Wealth, Garsington Opera, Jermyn Street Theatre, Nimax Theatres, Norwich Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Royal Lyceum Theatre and Theatre Royal Plymouth.

Following it’s incredible success, this year our Stage Door 11 programme will see 11 traineeships rolled out across the country. Keep an eye on our Opportunities Board or Instagram for when the positions with each organisation are open for applications.

Our Stage Door 10 Partner and Trainee Cohort (2025)

Other Opportunities BackStage Door & Behind the Scenes

We partner with brilliant organisations to offer other opportunities through the Stage Door programme. This includes a BackStage Door placement with Nimax Theatres on London’s West End, where our Trainee Rasha worked directly with the backstage crew at the Apollo Theatre for four months, helping with everything from props, scenery, lighting and wardrobe before, during and after a show. And our Trainee Director and Costume Trainee placements on our critically acclaimed production Kyoto with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

As well as our Behind the Scenes placements with Oscar Award-winning Slick Films on Largo, a new short film, working across Camera, Production Design and Film Team Assistance and during the filming and editing processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

STAGE DOOR STORIES

  • Amir Ibrahimi

    Amir was evacuated from Kabul in August 2021 after being attacked by the Taliban for taking photos. Now he’s pursuing his love of art, film and photography in the UK.

  • Rasha Obaid

    Art is out of the question in Yemen, but here Rasha can do what she loves. Meet our first participant of the BackStage Door Programme.

  • Mardin Mahmoudpour

    From growing up in Iran with a passion for theatre to rediscovering his voice and purpose in the UK through Stage Door, meet Mardin!

  • Sule Karakus

    Our most recent Stage Door placementee Sule tells us about her experience starting life again in the UK and finding a new community and home with Good Chance!