Curious Monkey is a Theatre Company of Sanctuary. This means that we welcome people seeking sanctuary in the UK, one of the ways that we do that is through the Arriving project. The Arriving project is a place where people seeking sanctuary in the North East of England can be creative, can have new experiences and feel welcome. It’s a place to meet up with friends and make new friends.

We go on monthly trips to the theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, and run events and projects that are led by our group and Curious Monkey’s creative team – from yoga to salsa to creating theatre to writing a book. We meet up regularly in person and online to chat, to eat and to be creative.

Our regular sessions happen on a Thursday at 5.30pm. We alternate between meeting in-person for creative workshops and online for a social catch-up on a Zoom video call. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better and for new members to find out more about what we do. 

The group are also the co-creators of the Happiness Project – a commission from Battersea Arts Centre’s Co Creating Change Network. Members of our group have created projects that will improve happiness in their communities. 

We are now supporting Arriving group members who want to develop their skills in the performing arts to work one on one with artists in areas they show a particular interest in. The group are also involved in volunteering at events and projects to gain experience in different public facing roles, put their many varied skills to good use, practise English in different settings and be part of the Curious Monkey team.