Disabled teenagers at Holloway’s Bridge School enjoyed a ground-breaking interactive play, specifically designed for an audience with severe learning disabilities.
18 students at the special needs school watched a production of Tunnels, an Alice-in-Wonderland style production designed by theatre troupe Tell Me A Tale, based in Dalmeny Road.
Tunnels, which was performed at the school on Hungerford Road this month, mixes live music, sign and sensory experiences to involve each audience member in the story.
Tell Me A Tale’s artistic director Amber Gregory, 28, a former pupil of Yerbury Primary School in Upper Holloway, said: “You or I can decide to go to the theatre tonight, but someone with complex disabilities would not have that opportunity. Why shouldn’t they be able to? It’s just pure entertainment.”
“This production gives young adults with complex disabilities the opportunity to access an interactive theatre experience that is appropriate for their age and their needs.”
The show, which was developed in collaboration with the Norwich-based Seeing Beyond company, features two actors and a musician in a series of scenes distinguished by different smells and sounds.
The two production companies launched the project after receiving £10,000 from the Arts Council to tour the one-hour show across eight special schools.
Tell me a Tale’s involvement in the Bridge School was also supported by the Islington Council Initiative Fund, which invested £2,000 in the programme.
“It’s nice to do something local and the staff are really supportive,” Amber said. “We really wanted to make sure it was appropriate to students at the Bridge so we met with their experts to get advice on how to make the production even stronger.”
Mandy Hadfield, Head Teacher at the Bridge Secondary School, said: “It provides our students with the most complex needs an opportunity to access creative events that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”
“It’s very difficult for the students at this level of learning disability to access the theatre, and this was a great way for them to do that.”
