Page 18 - Community Living Issue 31-3

Being seen: tv and theatre
appearing on stage and screen

Mainstream theatre and TV have improved how they include people with different ethnic
backgrounds and physical abilities. Richard hayhow examines how well they are portraying
– and changing perceptions of – people with learning disabilities

ignificant progress in the visibility of
people with learning disabilities on TV
sand in theatre productions has been
made across the country in recent years.
From the ground-breaking work in No
Offence two years ago on Channel 4 to
regular appearances in some of our
favourite soaps and, indeed, in recent
episodes of Silent Witness (see TV review,
page 29), people with learning disabilities
have had roles that have helped to break
down preconceived notions of who they
are and what they are capable of doing.
There are many ways to view this
progress and versions of success and
failure that could be drawn on to help
tease out the answer to the questions of
where we are as a society in our overall
perception of who people with learning
disabilities are, the role they can play and
what contribution they can make in Nicky Priest, actor and stand-up comedian, as the Mad Hatter
cultural provision.
Several significant markers reveal some While being a great experience for and creative partnership project, with
current perceptions for me. everyone involved, including often the shared values about what we all want to
First, we have over the past five years cast, the audience is essentially not achieve for the performers, and the
seen a massive growth in “relaxed” integrated – others are not invited or do changes needed to promote more inclusive
performances in theatres and other not want to take part. theatre practice in mainstream settings.
venues nationwide. This has followed on Many of the rules of theatre-going are However, the venue’s website says very
the back of, for example, signed and broken by a relaxed audience – standing clearly under its “Important stuff” section
audio-described performances and reflects up in the middle of show, making loud that the partners are working together “to
a genuine desire to make performances noises, wandering in and out – and other support emerging performers with learning
accessible to people on the autistic theatre-goers with differing expectations disabilities, some of whom appear in this
spectrum and with learning disabilities. would find it difficult to be part of an production”. While this may seem an
However, this is only the first step. audience of this kind. innocuous statement of fact, it can also be
Unlike signed and audio-described Second, Open Theatre Company is read as a warning about what people will
performances, which are designed to working with a prominent theatre on a encounter if they come and see the show.
enable sensory-impaired people to sit production of a family show featuring five Third, over the past three years, Ramps
alongside non-disabled audience professional performers with a learning on the Moon, a collaborative initiative
members, relaxed performances are for disability, to be staged as part of a season involving six theatres, has made significant
members of one section of society sitting of work showcased at that venue. strides in positioning the work of disabled
alongside each other. Without doubt, this is a truly collaborative artistes within mainstream theatre.
Ramps on the Moon aims “to achieve a
step change in employment and artistic
opportunities for disabled performers and
creative teams, and a cultural change in
the participating organisations to enable
accessibility to become a central part of
their thinking and aesthetics”.
While this programme has supported the
inclusion of many performers with physical
disabilities in mainstream productions, it
has had little success with the inclusion of
artistes with learning disabilities.
Actor Rishard Beckett, who appeared in No Offence and wants to appear in EastEnders: as the At the heart of this problem is the need
face of Coventry’s successful bid to become City of Culture 2021; and facilitating a workshop to enable the different and often unique
18 Vol 31 No 3 | Spring 2018 community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk