Case Study
Transformers Hartlepool
We supported Hartlepool-based arts company Transformers to build an engagement programme around their forced marriage-themed play, Firestorm.
From the stage to Teesside community centres
TransformersHPL is a relatively new charity, founded by Gina Mainoo and Nomusa Malinga in 2021, to promote racial harmony and community integration through cultural festivals, workshops and programmes, with a particular focus on supporting Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals settling in Hartlepool. In 2025, they produced and staged the forced marriage-themed play, Firestorm in Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre.
The Transformers team approached us for support in planning and leading the facilitation of a workshop series based around their play, as part of the engagement activity they had been funded to deliver by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland. They were keen to plan workshops aimed at supporting minority ethnic communities who might be affected by the issue as well as raising awareness of culturally sensitive issues amongst professional stakeholders in their area.
What we delivered together
Understanding the key themes
We attended the Firestorm play to ensure we had a good understanding of the stimulus that the workshop series would be based around, identifying the key themes, messages and moments of content the team were looking to share in the wider Teesside community.
Collaboratively planning the workshops
We led a collaborative process of planning an engagement workshop series focused on forced marriage, drawing from its treatment within Transformers’ play, together with leaders of a range of community groups that support racially-minoritised groups across Teesside.
Delivering community & stakeholder workshops
We went on to co-deliver the workshop to minority ethnic community groups in Hartlepool, Stockton and Middlesbrough, gathering participant feedback to share with the funder of the programme, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland in our final stakeholder workshop.
Outcomes
Developed new relationships
We supported a process of relationship-forming between 4 different community groups who felt supported through the experience of collaboration and were keen to identify further opportunities to do so.
Increased understanding
Participants gained understanding that forced marriage is a cultural rather than religious practice, the domestic abuse laws that relate to it and the support available for those affected.
Showcased the value of the arts
Our creative approach to learning supported stakeholders to recognise the barriers that get in the way of people from different cultures accessing support if they are experiencing forced marriage or domestic abuse.
