Drama Workshops @ The Tower Theatre with refugees & asylum seekers at Napier Barracks.

FPAC Ensemble members Matthew Hahn & Francisca Stangel are co-facilitating ten Arts Council England funded drama workshops at Folkestone's Tower Theatre which started in May 2024 with refugees & asylum seekers at Napier Barracks in association with Counterpoints Arts and Napier Friends.   

This applied theatre education project is a free weekly community engagement

programme for the men living at Napier Barracks, The workshops will focus on enjoyment, agency & self-expression. A resource pack with a scheme of work & lesson plans will be produced, to be shared with people seeking to work with asylum seekers in the UK.

The project will have regular performances for an invited audience every 4 weeks [the asylum seekers are allowed to stay at Napier for 90 days, we want to ensure that each

participant has a performance opportunity]. We are also mentoring Olha, an early career theatre practitioner, who has an interest in applied theatre.

Originally from Ukraine, Olha is a seasoned project and event manager with a passion for bringing people together for a good cause.

[Pictured are participants. Permission to publish has been granted. Photographs Hahn © 2024]

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England