Raising The Roof is a project working alongside care experienced young people to develop stories with fictional characters inspired by real life.
Since 2020 Playing ON has been working with care experienced young people, aged 16-25, to create fictional performances and short films about their lives. As a group, young people create stories inspired by real situations, building their skills in storytelling, and character creation. There have been multiple cohorts working together on Zoom in weekly sessions, culminating in creative sharings at Brady Arts Centre in Whitechapel, Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, The Jack Theatre in Brockley, a filming production week at Lewisham College and most recently at Raising the Roof: Run at Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
“Over ten weeks, with half the group meeting on Mondays and half on Wednesdays, we have played games, shared stories, built characters, improvised scenes and shaped the story you see today. Working with strong pastoral care and a trauma-informed approach has allowed us to hold courageous conversations that led to genuine creative discovery.
Many participants have juggled childcare, college and the everyday chaos of life to be here. Their commitment deserves a loud celebration.
Raising the Roof: Run offers a story of young people in or on the edge of care, navigating relationships and moments of despair but also showing remarkable resilience, imagination and potential.”
Photography: Fitzroy Andrews
The Cast of Raising the Roof: Run
December 2025, Soho Theatre Walthamstow
MONDAY GROUP
Benjamin Kuti - Mr Rimmer
Shanee Parvez - Emmanuel
Faith Agba-Butler- Sabrina
Abada Quyyum - Maria
Chenal Singh - Cheryl
Christopher Mukendi - Mr Branning
Yasmine Mukendi - Amaya
Hazel Kiranel - Danielle
Luwam Tesfamichael - Grace
Ezra Pilling - Jed
WEDNESDAY GROUP
Shannon Huggins - Winter
Sonya Kaur - Megan
Fahim - Terry
Daniel Abel - Matt
Khadijah Ali - Kathleen
Autumn Clarke - Tonya
Simone Dacres - Rosie
Maysa Usuf - Leanne
Participant Feedback
“It’s fun getting yourself into a different world. It’s something you would never normally do. In your day-to-day life you don’t have time to come out of character and pretend to be someone else, maybe act in certain ways that you may not want to act as yourself. I don’t like conflict but the conflict that me and the other character had was fun”
— Raising The Roof Participant
“For me there’s a sense of living another life for a little while instead of living my own. It’s good to do especially when sometimes you might think I’m too tired I’m too stressed but it is a really good way to unwind.”
— Raising The Roof Participant
“I was in a very dark place - this changed my life.”
“This gives social workers insight pathway plans never could.”
The Phone
Although entirely fictional, this was inspired by conversations with care leavers and their lived experience. This film clip gives a flavour of the way we have worked across the programme.
Thanks
Raising The Roof has been generously funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and The Postcode Society Trust. As part of Leap’s Under Our Roof programme it has also been funded by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Kurt and Magda Stern Foundation, Treebeard Trust, Rayne Foundation and the Blagrave Trust. In addition, we are grateful for funding from Arts Council England and City Bridge Foundation.
Raising The Roof 2025 was delivered in partnership with Future Formed at Waltham Forest, Goldsmiths University, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow, with additional funding from City Bridge Foundation and Garfield Weston.
Want to find out more?
Have a read of our blog post all about Raising the Roof here.
Have a look at this blog post to see the evaluation summary of Raising The Roof 2025.
