Bombs dropped, guns sounded, people fled to safe shelters. But this wasn't Iraq-this was The ArcTheatre, Trowbridge and the participants of The Everyman's Land project were taking part in a special role play session designed to help them understand what it's really like to have to flee your country, at night, under cover.

The mentors were trained to play the parts of immigration officials, gun men and assorted characters assisting or profiting from the unfortunate situation. The others were put into families all with a role card which told them why they were having to flee the country. Equipped with just one possession each to carry with them. our participants were woken up in the middle of the night and forced to leave their homes, blindfolded and thrown together in a dark place where one sound could give them away, hurried through netting representing undergrowth until they reached the border, where they faced the gruelling task of trying to fill out complicated forms which they couldn't understand, which  might  or might not be their passport  into  a safe country.

After the workshop it was sandwiches and drinks in the cafe and back to normality before  attending an informative session again run by The British Red Cross who run 'Journey To  Safety' workshops in schools around Bristol. We were extremely lucky that Anna Kuwar of The British Red Cross and her team, were able to offer this amazing experience to our participants. They provided a real insight into what people wanting to escape war-torn countries have to cope with, and we hope that the workshops will also feed into our project making the story more real. Thanks to The British Red Cross for all their invaluable work.