ABSTRACT
International Rainbow was the name of a theater group comprising lesbian and gay asylum seekers and refugees in London. Some of the theater group attendees had been in detention for extended time periods and they were willing to share their stories both within the group and with me personally. The theater space became perceived to be a place where one could open up while creating stories and characters to perform, this happened in a climate of creativity and mutual respect. In many ways the theater workshop could be described as a safe space for the asylum seekers and refugees, yet the notion of safe space in the context was always problematic. One of the main performances of International Rainbow took place in the summer of 2012. The group acted for the first time together at the Double Jeopardy Conference, an international conference that looked at the implementation of the human rights framework for sexuality- and gender-based asylum claims.
