By james art Congratulations on your West End debut Sensory ash. How do you think your past experiences have shaped you in preparing for this opportunity?
thank you I’m so excited to be playing Cinderella in Sensory Cinders – the first West End show for an audience with PMLD. Every actor hopes to be able to make work that is meaningful, and Sensory Cinders will be ground-breaking in its impact on the development of theatre.
Before working with Concrete Youth, I had no experience working with children with PMLD, let alone creating a show for this audience! When I’m not acting I work in the charity sector for the Telegraph Hill Centre, and my experience supporting different communities made me want to audition for this type of work. It was a wonderful learning experience and really inspiring about the potential Sensory Cinders has to develop inclusion in the arts.
I graduated from Mountview during COVID when most of our learning had to be socially distanced or online, so it’s fantastic to do something that’s so interactive and personal with an audience. I have been preparing for the role of Cinderella herself all my life! She was who I wanted to be when I grew up, so this is for sure the closest I’ll ever get!!
Sensory ash was specifically an audience with PMLD, how did it feel to be a part of it and how important was it from your perspective?
The overall performance is amazing. But performing in front of that type of audience is next level. They get so much joy from even the smallest moments and feel things so deeply. It is the most rewarding kind of performance you can experience. People with disabilities have been described as the most isolated and vulnerable members of our society, not only in the arts but also in everyday life. 93% of our audience has never been to a theater before. Earlier this week, a press release from the National Audit Office stated that the special educational needs system was not delivering better outcomes for children and young people, declaring the system financially “fragile”. It feels incredibly powerful to deliver Sensory Cinders at this moment. Sensory Cinders is so important and will hopefully impact accessibility in the theatre.
How are sensory elements such as sound, touch and visual effects incorporated into the show?
The sensory elements are the essence of the show. People labeled with PMLD are sometimes described as sensory beings (as opposed to linguistic beings), so they access the world entirely through sensory communication. The show does use verbal communication signed using Makaton, but the goal is to be able to tell the entire story and each narrative through sensory elements alone.
There are sensory elements to the show and every aspect has been considered in that regard. For example, there are pine cones that smell like the forest we’re in, and there are sparkly invitations to the Makaton-themed ball that the audience receives when they arrive. We had lots of fun experimenting with different sensory elements during our R&D at the National Theater and Barnsley Civic. There was a day where we just tried lots of different bath bombs from Lush – who very kindly support the show with lots of free items.
There are four main sensory moments in the show that are classified as “intense interaction” that can be customized and adapted to the specific needs and circumstances of audience members. First, there’s the moment with the dress transformation, when the Fairy Godmother asks the audience to help her make an outfit for Cinderella to go to the ball, and the actors bring pieces of Cinderella’s rags to each of the audience members, inviting them to pull the fabric , to reveal your new outfit. Then there’s a magic potion that the Fairy Godmother makes using bath bombs and popsicles, and the audience is encouraged to smell it and feel the mixture bubbling away. When they go to the ball, there’s a moment when Mama Disco (our lady) demands more accessories and the audience chooses whether they each think beads or scarves are “in” by trying on the neon fashion items and feeling them. This idea of ”choice” is a really important theme and is emphasized again in a mirrored sensory experience at the end of the show.
Sensory Cinders is also a cast musical production with stunning original music written by our Musical Director Guy Hughes. There is a lot of singing and different instruments that we play in close proximity to the audience members so that they can touch the instruments and even feel the vibrations as you play.
Many of the sensory materials and props have been designed and developed by Henshaws Arts Centre, which is a Yorkshire-based arts center that supports the learning of visual artists with disabilities. Concrete Youth have commissioned their disabled visual artists to work with our design teams, meaning our learning disabled viewers experience sensory materials made by disabled artists.
What kind of research or preparation have you done to better understand the needs of an audience with PMLD?
Before we started the process, I read a lot of articles and handbooks with information about PMLD, but you can learn so much by reading. Everyone’s needs are so different, so the best way to learn how to interact with our audience is to just do it.
During the R&D process, we would explore potential ideas and moments for the show, and then we would have the care settings go into the rehearsal room for sharing, where we could try out different options to see what worked and what not for our audience. Daniel Swift (CEO of Concrete Youth and Producer), Phoebe Kemp (Creative Access Consultant) and Lauren Phillips (Assistant Producer/Assistant) gave us great training early in R&D on how best to communicate, to listen and ensure that interaction is consensual. We also met with sensory engagement specialist Joanna Grace and sensory theater artist and academic Dr Gill Brigg for an emotional engagement session which was really insightful. It’s about really listening and tuning in to the individual; looking for the signs they give and trying to learn what they mean.
One of the best ways to engage with an audience member and put them at ease is by saying their name. We start the show with a name song where we ask their names and check if they’re on the prom invite list. It’s a great chance for them to feel settled in the space and get to know who we are and who we’ll be playing on the show.
How has your approach to portraying Cinderella changed in a production that focuses on sensory engagement?
Cinderella is the perfect story for our audience. She faces barriers throughout her life and wants to be able to go to prom, explore the world beyond, learn and grow. After receiving the support and guidance of the fairy godmother, she realizes that she is capable of doing these things, she just had to be given a chance. I hope that when she plays Cinderella, she feels relatable and inspiring to our audience.
As an actor, you can often get inside your head when the audience is watching. But in sensory theater, it feels like the roles are reversed. You, the actor, are watching the audience the whole time. It’s all about them. It’s so different from how you normally do a show. But good different! I hope to incorporate the things I learned in this project into all the work I do going forward.
What challenges did you face while working on this pantomime adaptation and how did you overcome them?
You must be fully prepared to adapt at any moment. It’s improvisation and thinking on your feet like you wouldn’t believe. Every show is so different depending on the level of interaction with the audience and how engaged they are with specific moments. For example, when Cinderella is upset, sometimes members of our audience will try to comfort me during the scene, or when Cinders doesn’t get an invitation, they’ll offer me theirs instead! But it sure keeps things fresh! I think knowing that all the actors have your back at any given moment is so helpful for that. We really care for each other and support each other in every moment.
Can you share a moment during rehearsals that stood out for you in terms of creating an accessible and immersive experience for the audience?
Our dress rehearsal was the first time we did the entire performance with an audience. We had done a run earlier that day without an audience and it was a bit eggy. But as soon as we got the audience, it was magical. It felt like a whole new piece. At the moment in the show where Cinderella was crying, someone in the audience tried to comfort me and said “I love you Cinders”. It was beautiful. When sensory theater is done right, the audience goes on a journey with the characters and feels completely apart from them.
What message or feeling do you hope the audience takes away, especially those with PMLD Sensory ash?
The main message and theme we want to take away from our audience is that they can have a choice. By having a choice, they are seen, heard and understood. We want this message to reach everyone in the audience, not just children with PMLD, but also their families, carers, industry and the press who can help advocate for these types of performances in the arts and on this way to help our audience members have a choice.
How did working on this production change your perspective on inclusion in theater?
I have worked in theaters that have an accessible show/relaxed shows during their production, but it is interesting to see that these kinds of shows are so far from what is actually inclusive and appealing to audiences with PMLD. People often think they have to turn the house lights down and turn down all the sound, but many in the audience love loud noises and big lights. It’s about finding ways to incorporate it gradually, not all at once. It’s also the intense interaction that makes the show earthy. When trying to communicate with an audience that often does not use language as their primary means of communication, which may be visually and/or hearing impaired and physically disabled, it is vital that the interaction can be personal and up close, or else the message is not clear and they will give up. After working on this show, there is so much more that theaters could do to include inclusion. By treating this work with respect and including it in mainstream venues, we treat people with PMLD with the same respect as any West End audience.
Why do you think sensory mimes are important to promoting inclusion in the performing arts and how do you hope to inspire other productions to follow suit?
It is so vital. There is such a need for this kind of work; the fact that the show sold out before we even opened proves that! It is strange that the first show for this audience is only now coming to the West End. Everyone deserves the chance to experience the theater, and when better than Christmas? For most children in the UK, their first experience of theater is pantomime, so to have a pantomime that is designed specifically for this audience is just magic. This kind of show requires a lot of research and understanding, so I think other theaters should be invested in bringing Concrete Youth and other companies like this to their venues. The Sensory Cinders team has been talking a lot over the last few weeks about advocating for our audience members and giving them a voice. We must respect and value people as they are and fight for equal rights. They deserve a West End experience they can enjoy and relate to as much as anyone else.
Sensory ash playing sell-out runs at @sohoplace from 30 October to 5 November 2024.