18 June 2025
The Roundhouse’s commitment to providing opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers has been recognised with a Theatre of Sanctuary Award.
The iconic London music and performing arts venue first started supporting sanctuary seekers in 2017, and has been working towards a Theatre of Sanctuary Award since 2023.
As well as hosting gigs and events, the Roundhouse’s thriving youth programme engages with over 11,000 young people annually, providing affordable opportunities for ages 11-30 in music, media, performing arts and professional development.
The Roundhouse actively works with sanctuary seekers through targeted creative programmes, partnerships, and practical support – collaborating with key organisations such as British Red Cross, Young Roots, New Citizens Gateway, Babylon Migrants Project and Phosphoros Theatre. These partnerships deliver tailored opportunities to sanctuary seekers, including theatre performances, circus skills, filmmaking and DJ sessions.
Sanctuary seekers have also led awareness sessions and creative showcases at the Grade II* listed venue, educating other industry professionals about their experiences. Sanctuary seekers between the ages of 13-25 can become members of the Roundhouse’s Creative Studios for free, which usually costs £25 per year.
The Theatre of Sanctuary Award was developed by City of Sanctuary UK and Counterpoints Arts, with the aim of celebrating arts organisations working with sanctuary seekers, telling stories of migration and bringing communities together. The Award recognises organisations who are going above and beyond to foster welcome, raise awareness and celebrate talent within refugee communities.
Tina Ramdeen, Associate Director of Young People at the Roundhouse, said: “At the core of our mission at the Roundhouse is a belief that creativity should be accessible for everyone, no matter their background. This Award recognises our commitment to opening our building and our facilities to support sanctuary seekers, and within that, it acknowledges a huge amount of work, collaboration and listening from our staff, our partners and our wider community. It’s an incredibly proud day for us.”
Ashley Beckett, Coordinator for London for City of Sanctuary UK, said: “I have the pleasure of giving the Roundhouse the Theatre of Sanctuary award. The commitment that they have made to ensuring the voices of people with lived experience are represented across the organisation is phenomenal. We can’t wait to see more of the work to come.”
Lisa Merker, Youth Development Worker of Young Roots, said: “The Roundhouse is such an important partner for us at Young Roots. Young people enjoy the huge range of different creative offers from circus to DJ to music and production. We are excited to hear that the Roundhouse is now officially Theatre of Sanctuary and cannot wait to continue working with the fantastic team of facilitators, youth workers and creatives”
Ali Ghaderi, Founder and Director of Babylon Migrants Project, said: “The Roundhouse team has been very welcoming to our members. We know that our participants, coming from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds, don’t always have access to cultural spaces, and don’t always feel welcome in them. This is definitely not the case with the Roundhouse, who made our participants feel at home. Whenever we needed support with something, they were there for us.”
Maryam Elika Ansari, Youth Wellbeing Manager of New Citizens Gateway, said: “We would never have access to music equipment or sound production without our partnership with the Roundhouse. Our young people are always very astonished when they see the studio spaces. It’s also really special for the Roundhouse to come into our space. We value that openness. It’s good to know that there are specific staff with youth work experience. Partnership builds bridges. Our creative projects together give our young people the confidence that they need initially to later go out and say ‘I want to be part of this myself’. It’s been a wholesome and two-way partnership.”
Juliet Styles, Producer and Co-Artistic Director of Phosphoros Theatre, said: “Roundhouse have given Phosphoros Young Company a state of the art space that has enabled our members who are refugees and asylum seekers aged 16-21 to develop their skills, connections and opportunities as part of the group. We are happy to be part of the Roundhouse creative community and hope to develop this collaboration as part of their Theatre of Sanctuary commitment”
A Phosphoros Young Company member said: “I feel creative and more confident at Phosphoros Young Company. We collaborate to bring ideas to life, experiment with different ways to tell a story and explore new characters.”