‘In my time at White Light we successfully employed ex-offenders who became valuable members of the team. On all those occasions our faith in them was repaid many times over.’

Started in 2025, the Second Stage initiative sits within two of this Government’s missions.
Kickstarting economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity.

Live theatre is one of Britain’s most defining and influential art forms; it is the bedrock of the UK’s creative talent, both on and offstage, and the deep interdependence between our creative industries, proves that theatre serves as a vital training ground, continuously fuelling and being enriched by film, TV, radio, music and the video gaming sectors.

With theatres located in communities across the country, we not only support local economies but also break down barriers to opportunities. Each theatre achieves this by enhancing creative education through participation and outreach work, and by providing training and pathways to low and highly skilled jobs on and off the stage.

Second Stage has been created to support one of these pathways. In its work to engage with those leaving the criminal justice system, it offers an opportunity to explore a new community with a tolerant and welcoming workforce, who work collaboratively to deliver success via outcome focused teamwork. That working as part of a creative team with shared responsibilities provides its own rewards; that with transferable skills from trades including carpentry, electrics, construction, hairdressing and sewing, they might find a fast paced and adrenalin fuelled environment, within an artistic community.

With reoffending rates currently costing the country £26.3 billion, we believe theatre can play a vital role in reducing those rates as well as fulfilling two of the Government’s important missions.

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At the end of 2024, the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre, the members body for West End and regional theatre, conducted a survey which reported a shortfall in staff to fill backstage jobs across all theatres, and skills shortages found across most technical roles. Their report is included HERE.

Research into opportunities being offered to prison leavers as part of their rehabilitation were found to be limited, but with support from the Department of Justice and some prison Governors and their employment bureaus, we have explored a way of transferring existing skills or training prisoners for new ones, which would be welcomed within an industry that has social care at its very heart.

Documented success from other industries suggests that engagement, training and employment with those leaving the criminal justice system results in an engaged, diverse and successful workforce, as well as reducing re-offending rates substantially.  Inspiration has come from the companies Timpsons, Balfour Beatty, and Greene King who have already proven success in recruiting prison-leavers.

Following conversations with venues, theatre professionals and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Services (HMPPS), we concluded that the theatre industry and its backstage job opportunities could provide a conducive and stimulating environment for those leaving prison, if we engage with them as part of their rehabilitation journey in prison, support them as they leave and help them negotiate the complexities of employment as prison leavers.

Second Stage’s work will be measured for efficacy by the Department of Psychology and Human Development at the University of East London. They will undertake qualitative research interviewing prison-leavers after their involvement in the programme and provide an independent report.

Looking to open up fair opportunities in your workplace?

Click here to explore Offploy’s trusted resources on how to safely and confidently employ people with convictions.

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