Developing Black, Brown & Rochdale artists

  1. Future Theatre Makers

A free, foundational programme for aspiring artists in Rochdale.

Future Theatre Makers is a game-changing new initiative designed by Rafia Hussain to support pre-professional and early-career artists from Rochdale who are curious about building a future in theatre. Whether you’re a writer, performer, director, or simply passionate about storytelling and live performance, this free programme offers a welcoming entry point into the industry.

🌟 Meet the 2025 cohort 🌟

Leah Wild

theatre maker & composer

Sam Jamil

actor & playwright

Becky Kershaw

actor, writer & producer

What You Get

Over the course of six months, participants will take part in:

  • Workshops
    Designed by Rafia Hussain, these sessions explore the core elements of theatre-making — including development, fundraising, project management and production. You’ll gain practical tools, experiment with ideas, and learn how to shape them into live work.

  • Mentoring
    One-to-one guidance from experienced producers to help you define your goals, build confidence, and navigate your next steps in the industry.

  • Artistic Research Trips
    Group visits to live performances, rehearsals, and industry sharings in and beyond Rochdale, helping you broaden your creative references and experience professional work first-hand.

  • Industry Insight
    Discover how theatre is made behind the scenes, meet professionals from different roles across the sector, and start to understand the pathways into the creative industries.

Who It’s For

  • New artists aged 18+ who are from or live in Rochdale.

  • Those with little or no formal training, experience and/or connections in theatre.

  • People who identify as working class, Black / Brown, or underrepresented in the arts.

  • Anyone with a passion for storytelling, collaboration, and making a difference through culture.

Whether you’ve written poems, performed in school plays, made work in your community, or just have the spark of an idea — you are welcome.

What You’ll Leave With

  • A network of local creatives and industry professionals.

  • A clearer sense of your creative voice and ambitions.

  • An understanding of how professional theatre is made.

  • New skills, confidence, and next steps to keep growing your practice.

Cost & Commitment

  • Cost: Free to take part

  • Time commitment: Approx. 8 hours per month

  • Duration: 6 months

  • Location: Rochdale

Applications are currently closed. Please sign up to our mailing list to hear when the next round will open.

2. Development

We are proud to have supported the development of three new projects by early career Black and Brown artists in our first year. These were:

  1. Four Dholis and a Divorce. Written by Hafsah Aneela Bashir.

  2. Category Mistake. Written by mandla.

  3. Frank and Jen. Written by Chris Fung.

We look forward to seeing these projects continue to develop beyond our initial support.

3. Sector development

We have partnered with The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to undertake a national research project on structural racism in theatre. This project involves a national survey and 1:1 research interviews. The results will be published in due course.

Please sign up to our mailing list to be the first to receive the survey and subsequent report .