Good Chance Theatre

What Good Chance Theatre does

Good Chance Theatre is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1166833) and private limited company (Company Number 09952411) founded in 2015 by playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, headquartered at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London. The organisation creates theatre productions, public art installations, and community programmes centred on displacement, migration, and climate themes, serving displaced and sanctuary-seeking artists as the primary beneficiary group while also engaging general theatre audiences, UK schools, and the humanitarian sector. Its core offerings include award-winning productions ('The Jungle', 'Kyoto', 'A Grain of Sand'), the Little Amal public artwork (a 3.5m puppet that travelled 8,000km across 9 countries), the Fly With Me international kite-flying festival (47 locations), 11 Dome Theatres of Hope deployed in refugee camps and cities, and the Stage Door paid placement programme for displaced creatives.

The underlying operational model is community-led: programmes are co-created with artists who have lived experience of displacement, and an Advisory Board of individuals with lived experience provides governance input. Distribution is venue-anchored, with co-productions at tier-1 institutions including the Royal Shakespeare Company (Swan Theatre world premiere of 'Kyoto', 2024), @sohoplace on the West End (16-week season, 2025), and Lincoln Center Theater (North American premiere, autumn 2025), alongside grassroots delivery through mobile Dome Theatres and free curriculum-aligned educational resources for UK schools. Notable recognition includes Olivier Award nominations (2025), BAFTA and Oscar shortlists for the short film 'Yellow' (2023), a Guinness World Record for Little Amal (2021), and Theatre of Sanctuary status (2023).

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of box office from co-produced theatre productions, individual and institutional donations, and grants from named charitable foundations (The Dandu Foundation, The Ian McKellen Producer Grant, The Linbury Trust, The Crucible Foundation, Pears Foundation, Allianz Kulturstiftung, and others). The Walk with Little Amal has been operated via a separate producing entity, The Walk Productions Ltd, since 2022. The organisation is led by co-founders and Artistic Directors Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, with Deputy Artistic Director Elias Matar and a Trustee board; the team comprises 18 employees.

Name

Good Chance Theatre

Legal name

Good Chance Theatre

Website

https://goodchance.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Good Chance Theatre is a UK-registered charity and theatre company that creates productions, public art installations, and artist development programmes centered on displacement, migration, and climate themes, serving displaced artists, general theatre audiences, UK schools, and humanitarian partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Theatre and Performing Arts

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC), Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

Keywords

• Community theatre productions
• Refugee arts programming
• Public artwork performances
• Artist development programmes
• Migration-focused theatre

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Theatre Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from ticket sales for major productions including 'Kyoto' (Olivier Award-nominated), 'The Jungle', and other theatrical performances at venues including RSC, West End, and international touring locations.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals and institutional supporters, with donation pages prominently featured on the website. The organization is a registered charity (Number 1166833).
3. Grants and Foundation Support: Funding from foundations and institutional grants supporting specific programmes such as Stage Door (artist development), with support from organizations like The Dandu Foundation, The Ian McKellen Producer Grant, The Linbury Trust, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Good Chance Theatre produces and tours live theatrical productions (including Kyoto at the RSC, West End and Lincoln Center, and The Jungle), large-scale public artworks (The Walk with Little Amal), community festivals (Fly With Me), and artist development programmes (Stage Door, Hope Shows) that centre displaced artists and address migration and climate themes. Offerings are delivered through partnerships with major theatre venues, mobile Dome Theatres of Hope in cities and former refugee camps, free school resources, and fundraising supported by charitable donations and foundation grants.

Product overview

Good Chance Theatre is a theatre and arts organisation (not a technology company) that creates groundbreaking productions and community programmes centred on displacement, migration, and human rights themes. Their portfolio spans live theatre productions (The Jungle, Kyoto, A Grain of Sand), large-scale public artworks (The Walk with Little Amal), community festivals (Fly With Me), and artist development programmes (Stage Door, The Domes). These offerings are unified by their mission to amplify displaced voices and create space for cultural exchange, rather than being a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Theatre of Hope: The dome theatres created by Good Chance, serving as spaces for artistic expression and collaboration with displaced communities.
• Kyoto
• The Walk with Little Amal
• Fly With Me
• Stage Door
• Hope Shows

Products and services

• The Jungle Award-winning play about life inside the Calais Jungle refugee camp, co-written by founders Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson and staged at venues including St Ann's Warehouse New York, the West End, and San Francisco. Aimed at general theatre audiences and touring internationally.
• Kyoto Olivier Award-nominated play about the 1997 Kyoto Protocol climate negotiations, co-produced with the Royal Shakespeare Company and presented at the RSC Swan Theatre, @sohoplace (West End) and Lincoln Center New York. Targeted at general theatre audiences.
• The Walk with Little Amal International public artwork featuring a 3.5m puppet of a Syrian refugee child, travelling through towns across multiple countries and engaging over 130,000 live audience members in-person across events of welcome. Produced for the general public.
• Fly With Me International kite-flying festival celebrating Afghan culture and solidarity with displaced people from Afghanistan, staged across 47 locations in the UK, Europe and North America. Engaged 5,000+ artists from sanctuary-seeking backgrounds and aimed at the general public.
• The Domes (Theatres of Hope) Portable dome theatres built in refugee camps and cities, serving as safe spaces for artistic expression, cultural exchange and community connection. Used for Hope Shows, workshops and community-facing arts programmes on behalf of displaced people and local communities.
• Stage Door Programme Paid training and placement programme placing creatives from refugee backgrounds in roles across leading UK theatres and arts organisations (including RSC partner venues). Designed to create paid pathways for displaced artists into the UK theatre industry.
• From Here On Physical theatre performance project about child refugees, exploring Kindertransport history and contemporary migration experiences, created in partnership with Gecko. Targeted at general theatre audiences and educational audiences.
• A Grain of Sand One-woman show about a young Gazan girl searching for her family, blending Palestinian folklore with real-life testimonies from children in Gaza. Targeted at general theatre audiences and festival audiences.
• Largo Short film about Musa, a ten-year-old Syrian refugee who builds a boat to sail home, accompanied by free educational resources for schools during Refugee Week. Distributed to general audiences and educational institutions.
• Yellow BAFTA-nominated and Oscar-shortlisted short film by Elham Ehsas about a young woman buying her first full body veil in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Released to film festival audiences and broader public audiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 1.1 million people across 8 years through 506 events in 11 Dome Theatres and 3 major productions
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lincoln Center TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Presenting the North American premiere of 'Kyoto' at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in autumn 2025, opening the 25/26 season.
• Rachel Styne and Jessica FoungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Co-producers of the West End production of 'Kyoto' at @sohoplace, supporting the transfer from the RSC premiere.
• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024Co-producer of 'Kyoto' (Olivier Award-nominated) and original production partner. The RSC Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon hosted the world premiere in summer 2024.
• Bradford Producing HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Chichester Festival TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Common/Wealth TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Garsington OperaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Jermyn Street TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Nimax TheatresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Norwich TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Oxford PlayhouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• The Royal Lyceum Theatre EdinburghminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• Theatre Royal PlymouthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage Door 10 partner hosting a displaced creative in a paid placement role.
• The Walk Productions LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProducing entity for The Walk with Little Amal since 2022, continuing the global journey of the Little Amal puppet.
• Handspring Puppet CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationCreators of the Little Amal puppet and technical partner for The Walk, providing the puppetry expertise for the 3.5m puppet.
• Choose LoveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian organization partner for The Walk and co-creator of The Amal Fund raising funds for displaced children.
• Citizens TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Fly With Me and other Good Chance activities in Scotland.
• National Theatre of ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOP26 partner for Little Amal's appearance at the climate conference.
• Vision MechanicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for The Walk and COP26 events.
• Heath HandsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for Fly With Me activities.
• Kent Refugee Action NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugee support organization partner for Fly With Me.
• Manchester International FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFestival partner for The Walk: When the Birds Land and other collaborations.
• HOME ManchesterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts venue partner for Fly With Me.
• National Literacy Trust BradfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner for Fly With Me in Bradford.
• RINKOGUNminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapanese theatre company producing the Japanese adaptation of 'Kyoto' at Suzunari Theatre in Tokyo, June-July 2025.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Complicité: Internationally renowned British touring theatre company producing ambitious, physical, politically engaged work for global audiences. Comparable in its international touring model, prestigious venue circuit, and capacity to transfer productions across continents.
• Gecko Theatre: UK-based international touring physical theatre company that creates work on migration, identity, and belonging — and is an existing co-creation partner of Good Chance on the From Here On production. Closely aligned in scale, international touring model, and thematic focus.
• Kneehigh Theatre: Cornwall-rooted touring theatre company producing large-scale, visually driven productions that tour to regional and international venues. Comparable in its mid-sized charity structure, distinctive touring aesthetic, and reliance on a small core team.
• Citizens Theatre: Glasgow-based producing theatre and existing partner of Good Chance on Fly With Me and other programming. Comparable in its producing model, partnership-driven approach, and use of theatre as a platform for community engagement and social themes.
• Cardboard Citizens: UK theatre company that makes work with and for people experiencing homelessness, founded on inclusive practice with artists with lived experience. Directly comparable to Good Chance as a small charity using theatre as a vehicle for displaced and marginalised communities.
• The Young Vic: London producing theatre known for transferring ambitious, socially engaged work to international audiences and for community programmes alongside main-stage productions. Comparable in mission-led programming, artist development pathways, and London-based producing model.
• Clean Break Theatre Company: London-based theatre company producing work with women who have been affected by the criminal justice system. Comparable to Good Chance in being a small charity that centres artists with lived experience and produces both community-engaged and main-stage theatre.
• Headlong Theatre: UK-wide touring theatre company producing bold new work with leading playwrights and theatres nationally. Comparable in producing new writing for transfer to major venues and in operating from outside London with touring-driven economics.

Broad incumbents

• Royal Court Theatre: London's leading new writing theatre, producing politically engaged plays that transfer nationally and internationally. Comparable in championing playwright-led work on social themes, though operating at a significantly larger scale and with a longer institutional history.

Emerging players

• Punchdrunk: Award-winning UK company pioneering immersive theatre with long-running productions and international transfers. Comparable as a UK-based, mid-sized touring production company using distinctive theatrical formats to engage large audiences and touring to prestigious venues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Good Chance Theatre