Pure products go crazy

Abstract

This paper reviews three pieces of contemporary theatre which feature learning-disabled actors. It identifies particularities of a context which has remained critically under-represented. The paper identifies such practice as transitional: from the margins of disability politics to the mainstream of the paying audience. The overarching question is: by what criteria should the work of learning-disabled artists be judged? It examines what is meant by ‘good’ in a context which has been assessed more often by therapeutic or social outcome than artistic achievement. The paper opens a debate on the aesthetic properties of the work.

Keywords:

• theatre
• learning disability

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to the companies and interviewees whose work is discussed here. Without exception, their willingness to allow me to view and to openly discuss their working methods has been a richly stimulating and, I hope, ongoing process of collaboration. I would like to thank the editorial team and also Frances Babbage and Cormac Power for their generosity in reviewing this paper at pre-publication stages. The paper was also informed by debates that took place in the excellent RiDE symposium, Disability: Creative Tensions in Applied Theatre (6 October 2007) at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Notes

1. Throughout this article, a name followed by ‘interview’ refers to transcripts of interviews with the following practitioners carried out between April 2006 and November 2007: Bridget Foreman, dramaturg, Pinocchio; Bruce Gladwin, director, Small Metal Objects; Richard Hayhow, co-director, Pinocchio; Mike Kenny, writer, On the Verge; Jon Palmer, co-director, Pinocchio; Sonia Teuben, actor, deviser, Small Metal Objects; Tim Wheeler, director, On the Verge.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matt Hargrave

Matt Hargrave is senior lecturer and programme leader for drama at the University of Northumbria. He is also engaged in an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Project in theatre and learning disability at the University of Sheffield