THE GREEN ROOM IS OPEN

Today, we are opening our virtual Green Room! A two-week WhatsApp experience designed to combat loneliness.

 

2 November 2026
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Our Spotlights and Shadows research found that 77% of actors and 85% of stage management professionals experience loneliness. Worryingly, approximately a third of respondents described loneliness as an extreme problem, including 33% of actors and 31% of stage management professionals.

To help address this, Actors’ Trust has partnered with Riptide to launch The Green Room, a new initiative designed to help actors and stage managers build meaningful connections with others in the industry.

Built on research from the Centre for Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, The Green Room pairs participants in anonymous one-to-one WhatsApp conversations over a two-week period. Pairs are based on shared interests and values, creating opportunities for genuine connection and mutual support.

The programme is open to all professional actors and stage managers in the UK, regardless of financial circumstances. Loneliness can affect anyone, which is why participation is fully-subsidised and accessible. Each round of the programme will welcome up to 100 participants, with the first cohort due to begin on 25 November.

Please complete this questionnaire to sign-up. Spaces are limited, and sign-ups will close at 5pm on Monday 23rd November, if we do not reach capacity before then.

Visit this page for more information, ground rules and FAQs.

We’re more connected than ever, and somehow lonelier than ever. The Green Room is a small act of resistance against that. I’m thrilled Actors' Trust shares our belief and is commissioning a new artwork which is helping to combat loneliness and help foster connection. The Green Room is built on the science of how we form connection. Participants are paired with an anonymous stranger and invited to connect through daily prompts, activities and provocations across 14 days. This builds on similar connection projects Riptide have hosted, which were born out of the 2020 lockdown, seeing over 2,500 people connect, across 5 continents. The project gives us hope. We can’t fix loneliness in two weeks. But we can remind people how good it feels to be truly seen, and that small acts can add up to something meaningful.
Alexander Palmer Artistic Director, Riptide