The stories of people who fled persecution to seek sanctuary in Bolton will be told at special performance at the Octagon.

The Octagon Theatre has partnered with innovative and renowned theatre company Headlong on their latest co-production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.

As part of that a short original performance will be staged with the Octagon’s Women’s Group – a participation group for asylum seekers and refugees, which meets weekly at the Octagon.

Over four weeks of workshops, the participants have creating a movement piece exploring how their own personal experiences reflect the themes explored in Miller’s play.

The play is a compelling drama about a Sicilian family in 1950s Brooklyn that questions issues of personal identity, belonging and the human price of a country’s immigration policies and it is these themes which will be used as a catalyst for the participants to share their own personal experiences.

The final piece will then be performed before the matinee performance of A View from the Bridge on Thursday (28 September).

Community Theatre Director at the Octagon, Lucie Jowett said: “We are delighted to be working with Headlong on this new project with our Women’s Group participants. The themes explored in the play are incredibly relevant to our group members and all have real insight and lived experience of what the characters in the play go through, so I am really excited to see what they create over the next four weeks.”

Associate and Project Manager at Headlong, Iskandar Sharazuddin added: “I am thrilled to be partnering with the Octagon Theatre and their facilitators to work with the Women’s Group developing a moved response to the themes of ‘A View from the Bridge’. I’m humbled to be working with women from such rich cultural spaces bringing their personal journeys to this process as we create a new piece of work together and discover the points that this play resonates, provokes, and excites us as creatives.”

A View from the Bridge is a co-production with Octagon Theatre Bolton, Headlong, Chichester Festival Theatre and Rose Theatre runs until Saturday, September 30.