What are the lived experiences of theatre practice and disability among professional directors and actors in theatres funded by Arts Council England? An interpretative phenomenological analysis

A growing number of theatre and disability scholars, activists, artists, and critics have called for the increased and accurate onstage representation of disabled people in theatre. Arts Council England’s shift in diversity strategy brought a new dynamic to this long-running debate. Since 2015 its funded theatre organisations have been required to demonstrate progress towards increasing workplace opportunities for disabled people alongside other minority communities. Still, it is rare for an actor with a physical impairment to be cast in an onstage role in any major theatre. Drawing on the rich history and critical knowledge of disability studies, and considering emerging theatre practice from a phenomenological perspective, the aims of this thesis are: to understand more about why non-disabled directors and disabled actors are choosing to, or not to, work together; to facilitate open sharing of personal experiences of theatre practice and disability among directors and actors; and to motivate policy based on lived experiences of practice and impact long-term change. Key concepts of lived experience are drawn upon in the thesis to analyse current theatre practice from an individual perspective. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis is used to facilitate exploration of real-life experiences of theatre practice and disability among professional actors and directors employed in Arts Council England’s most highly funded theatres across England. Interviews were carried out with seven actors with physical impairments who self-define as disabled people, and twelve directors who consider themselves non-disabled people. Interview data revealed what is happening when a shift from the outside-in, in Arts Council England’s diversity strategy, impacts an inside-out view of intrapersonal and interpersonal processes of engagement with disability in theatre. Extending beyond assumptions of casting or funding requirements, this gave rise to complex and entirely personal responses reflected in six emergent superordinate themes and subthemes. Concerning actor-participants, this study enables detailed discussion around the impact of theatre on perceptions of identity, navigating directors’ inexperience of disability, and wrestling with authenticity. Regarding director participants, it opens discussion around disability consciousness, narratives of caution and confidence, and perceptions of external constraints on casting. A synthesis of findings led to the proposal of stages in a process of engagement with theatre practice and disability for actors and directors. Naming a process of engagement that understands individuals working in theatre as having a particular distance from disability, and captures steps towards routinely and effectively working together, may be beneficial in moving progress towards the accurate representation of disabled people in theatre

Review of Metanarratives of Disability: Culture, Assumed Authority, and the Normative Social Order

Metanarratives of Disability opens discussion and understandings around cultural, theoretical, and lived experience perspectives of disability. The critical concepts of assumed authority and the normative social order are introduced and investigated alongside multiple metanarratives of disability; that is the dominant social meanings attributed to specific impairments or conditions. Intimate experiential examples of how these pervade real-life situations are shared by the authors, giving deeper meaning to why critical and intrapersonal engagement with these concepts matters

Debating the lived experiences of theatre practice and disability among professional directors and actors

This article overviews Arts Council England’s current diversity strategy and initiatives, and pinpoints how this may impact professional directors and disabled actors’ experiences of working in theatre. The call to increase the participation of disabled actors in theatre is widening. Long-standing public debate surrounding casting choices and accessibility has been bolstered by external pressure from funding bodies. Arts Council England has shifted its strategy, now publishing annual disability data for all its funded theatres and exposing those that fail to adequately represent disabled people in the workforce. At ground-level directors and disabled actors working in producing house theatres must consider their response to this. For some this may require exploration of new territory. Impactful shifts in strategy require a shift in individuals, so complex intersections between theatre, disability studies and phenomenology fast become integral to understanding theatre as a workplace. The article therefore establishes the need for further rich and detailed study of the personal, lived experiences of theatre practice and disability among directors and disabled actors in theatres funded by Arts Council England under this developing strategy

Working with deaf and disabled performers: An investigation into directing process and theatrical interpretation

There are over eleven million disabled people in the United Kingdom, yet it is still rare to see a deaf or disabled actor playing a lead role in theatre. Arts Council England (ACE) recognise that work with deaf and disabled performers has become the domain of a few specialist companies (Bazalgette, 2014), and its recent strategy urges arts organisations to share the responsibility for increasing diversity equally across all minority groups (ACE, 2015, p.4). This practice based research investigates the implications, for a director, of working with deaf and disabled actors for the first time. It reflects on the rehearsal and performance of Couple, a play with five actors including a deaf actor and an actor with cerebral palsy, which incorporated BSL and English. The complex process of making theatre that is accessible to actors, regardless of ability/disability, is discussed in regard to recruitment, casting, script, language, physicality and acting. This study examines the principles that guide inclusive practice and concludes with recommendations for supporting and resourcing directors to increase diversity in their work. It offers insight into ways to maximise the impact of ACE’s diversity strategy in relation to deaf and disabled actors in the wider theatre community

The impact of interdisciplinary approaches to disability studies and theatre: learning the notes and the tune

Interdisciplinary perspectives are crucial in navigating recent shifts in diversity agenda in the theatre industry and ensuring continued moves towards the accurate onstage representation of disabled people. Knowledge that is commonplace for disability scholars is still unfamiliar to many involved in day-to-day theatre work. Understanding of lived experience perspectives of disability is also lacking, yet this is crucial for making sense of attitudes, structures, and environments experienced in theatre settings. This paper considers: what aspects of disability studies knowledge are most necessary to share in building disability consciousness in the theatre sector and training; how interdisciplinary perspectives might support individual’s process of exploring new territory, building familiarity across disabled and non-disabled communities, and sharing responsibility for industry-wide change; and who is best positioned to influence interdisciplinary perspectives in theatre inside and outside the disabled community. It includes the proposal of Stages in a Process of Engagement with Theatre Practice and Disability for Actors and Directors

Exploring onstage portrayals of parent/carers of disabled adults/children

This poster and brief presentation are outputs from an RKE internship held within the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health (SDHRC). My initial intention for the internship proposal was to consider how public portrayals of the lives of carers/parents of disabled people shape perceptions, and how families of disabled people might be key allies in challenging societal misunderstandings of disability through the arts. The project focused on a literature review aimed to overview onstage portrayals of parents/carers of disabled people in modern theatre. It was intended to prepare the ground for participatory research that will encourage a series of conversations between decision-makers in theatre who have lived experience of disability in their families. The outcomes of this research have begun to utilise existing research in a way that could prepare for a future bid in this area

'Beautiful Noise' evaluation report

Canterbury Festival’s Beautiful Noise Community Music Celebration is a free event in its second year, offering local volunteers an opportunity take part in a live performance. A total of 370 performers and 20 music groups took part in 2022. The Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health (SDHRC) supported this community initiative through a brief evaluation. This was funded as part of SDHRC’s ongoing arts and health research through OAK Foundation. A short digital questionnaire was created to capture individuals’ views and experiences of taking part in the Beautiful Noise event. This questionnaire detailed demographic and event data and included the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) four personal wellbeing questions. It was completed in-person with 77 participants, aged 18+ years. Questions were multiple choice with a free text box for further comments. Data was analysed and general themes drawn out and discussed in the light of existing literature. The evaluation report offered festival organisers deeper understanding of the event’s impact on widening audiences, health and wellbeing, place-making and community connection, and accessibility and inclusion

Why inherited distance and responses to inexperience of disability matters in theatre practice

This paper considers how lived experience of disability in the theatre industry raises issues of inclusion, access, and participation that cross disciplinary boundaries. Drawing on an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study with professional actors and directors in Arts Council England’s most highly funded theatres, it adds detail to what is happening on the ground in theatre. It queries how learning from disability in the theatre industry might be translated by practitioners in tackling exclusion and enhancing inclusion in applied and social theatre contexts. Sharing responsibility for accessibility in practice goes beyond logistical adjustments, instead, the paper explores the significance of personal understandings of disability and how its history and politics are interpreted in practice. Although referring to race, Sara Ahmed offers helpful parallels when considering personal positioning in a process of engagement with disability in theatre, noting how ‘we inherit proximities’ to people who are different to ourselves (2007, p.155). Ahmed clarifies, ‘this is an inheritance that can be refused, and which does not fully determine a course of action’ (2007, p.155). Actors and directors in the theatre industry recognise inherited distance from disability as relevant, a gap needing to be bridged. Their implicit stories shared in this paper reveal how individuals working in theatre respond to inexperience of disability and weigh responsibility for learning from disability and about accessibility, representation, language, and effective collaboration. This paper, therefore, aims to draw attention to lived experiences of disability and theatre practice as a route to understanding complex issues of power and participation in theatre across disabled and non-disabled communities. As academics, researchers, and practitioners, we are encouraged to refuse an inheritance of distance and move towards disability experience in some way