First Bus and Leeds Playhouse are proud to announce a new partnership highlighting their shared commitment to creating meaningful connections across communities, including newcomers to the city.

First Bus, which operates across West Yorkshire, is supporting the Playhouse’s pioneering Theatre of Sanctuary programme of work by helping to improve access to creative opportunities – removing transport barriers and enabling participants to engage with the arts in a safe and welcoming space.

First Bus is providing travel support to the Playhouse for a year to encourage new and existing users to discover what the programme has to offer.

Leeds Playhouse became the world’s first Theatre of Sanctuary in 2014. The Playhouse has since become an industry leader, celebrating and amplifying the voices of refugees and people seeking asylum through the power of performance, creativity, and storytelling.

From choirs to youth groups, conversation cafés to performance sharings, the year-round work created through the programme explores the lived experiences of people seeking safety. At its heart, Theatre of Sanctuary celebrates what unites us rather than what divides us. The new partnership between Leeds Playhouse and First Bus echoes this ethos.

Chief Executive of Leeds Playhouse, Shawab Iqbal said: “There’s a strong connection between First Bus’s purpose — to connect and build communities – and our work at Leeds Playhouse, where we strive to ensure the arts welcome, empower, and bring people together. This partnership reflects a shared mission: to foster belonging and create meaningful connections across our city. We’re deeply grateful to First Bus for supporting our Theatre of Sanctuary work and helping us make the Playhouse a home for everyone”

Mubs Mahmed, Community and Social Value Partner at First Bus, said: “Helping those in the communities we serve, including newcomers to Leeds and the wider region, to integrate into society can enrich their lives and that of others around them.

“We hope through our partnership we can make it easier for people to explore Theatre of Sanctuary and the new experiences this brings.”