About our work
Our mission is to deliver a vibrant professional & community programme, breaking down barriers for disadvantaged & disabled people to access culture. We put inclusion at the centre of our work, giving a voice to the most marginalised through high quality arts activities, volunteering & employment.
Our growing community programme, provides young people and adults who are economically deprived, have disabilities and learning difficulties, and those struggling with mental health and addiction a platform and a voice to express themselves creatively and challenge the negative and restrictive ways in which they are often viewed by society.
We have a long track record of supporting young people facing barriers to the arts, with alumni including Mark Grimmer, founding director of 59 Productions, actor Jack Laskey, animator and director Joseph Pierce and Oscar winning writer/director & diversity campaigner Aneil Karia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued our theatre and community programme with online drama workshops, activities and resources, as well as producing new and exciting digital theatre productions. Our digital content reached over 20,000 people and raised vital funds for our community and theatre programme to survive the pandemic. We are proud to provide a creative lifeline to our community during this difficult time, which has been awarded funding from Arts Council England and DCMS’s Cultural Recovery Fund.
Video credit: Arts Council England
Our programme recruits on a ‘no fee, no audition’ basis to remove any barriers to access. If you are interested in joining our community at Red Rose Chain or want to find out more about the work we do, please email rei@redrosechain.com
All our workshops are held at The Avenue Theatre, Gippeswyk Hall, Ipswich, IP2 9AF.
“Opportunity and inclusivity are both fundamental to Let’s Create, the Arts Council’s vision for arts, culture and creativity in England for 2020-30. These are brilliantly embodied by Red Rose Chain and we’re proud to invest in their work to break down barriers and transform perceptions of what young disabled artists can and do achieve.”
Arts Council England
“I cannot praise the company highly enough. No-one is turned away, and as a support worker of one of the members of the group, I have seen first-hand how the quiet, nervous, self-conscious, and sometimes overpowering individuals, become confident, happy, funny participants in the supportive group that has now become our ‘family’.”
Participant
Our community groups
ACT
The Avenue Community Theatre ‘ACT’ is a company for adults with disabilities, learning difficulties and adults struggling with mental health and addiction. They come together weekly to create thought provoking theatre and film that challenges the way society views vulnerable adults and those who are different
The Chainers Youth Theatres
The Chainers are 2 companies for young people from the ages of 9+, providing creative training at the highest artistic level. We provide a safe and nurturing environment where they gain skills and confidence through performance and volunteering opportunities
The Gold Chainers Youth Theatre
The Gold Chainers is a company for young people with additional needs, disabilities and learning difficulties. This group of inspiring young actors are extraordinary in the diversity of their talents and their work is driving innovation in accessible theatre
Our outreach projects
Under 5s
Our under 5s storytelling project, works with disadvantaged young families and refugees across children centres in Ipswich
Prisons
We are proud to work on innovative projects with prisoners and ex-offenders, and currently work with life sentence prisoners at HMP Warren Hill
Schools
We work closely with local schools, colleges, pupil referral units and SEND schools across Suffolk
Volunteering
We offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities in our community programme and on our professional productions
