Waltham Forest: Run
Raising the Roof 5: Autumn 2025
Run was a paid opportunity for care-experienced young people aged 16 to 25. From October 2025, the group met weekly on Zoom for ten weeks to play games, share stories, build characters and improvise scenes. Those ideas gradually grew into a full performance as the young people explored big themes, took creative risks and found new ways to express themselves, all within a trauma-informed process with strong pastoral care. Many were balancing childcare, college and the everyday unpredictability of life to be there, and the sessions became a space for joy, imagination, confidence and connection.
The work in the room ranged from spoken word and voice notes to hot-seating characters and building scenes between them. The programme ended with an in-person gathering at Soho Theatre Walthamstow in December 2025, where the group turned ten weeks of online exploration into Raising the Roof: Run, a powerful, playful and honest piece of theatre reflecting the realities, resilience and potential of young people in and on the edge of care.
90%
of participants reported increased confidence, courage, or personal growth.
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
“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.”
“I didn’t feel alone anymore.”
“I was in a very dark place - this changed my life.”