For the blind and visually impaired community, the last generation has brought a great deal of change. In 2000, the BBC announced that it would make audio descriptions available for at least 20 per cent of its programme. In reality, it often exceeds this. Six years later, Netflix followed suit. Major live events like royal weddings are now expected to have AD and blind and visually impaired football fans can enjoy live AD commentary in stadiums around the world.
But it wasn't always this way. While BSL interpreters have been more of a common sighting in TV and live performance, blind audience members used to be overlooked. When a small but determined group of blind and visually impaired actors and practitioners got together in 1997, the landscape for disabled artists and audiences looked a little different. In an industry dominated by able-bodied theatremakers, Extant was born.
A challenging landscape
Unsurprisingly, Extant was born out of a feeling of frustration – a sense that the industry wasn't serving the communities it ought to. The name ‘extant’ is defined by its existence. It's the opposite of ‘extinct’. Blind and visually impaired performers exist and deserve representation and a space to thrive. The company's founder Maria Oshodi was working as a blind actor, but says she was ‘disgruntled’ about the way disability was being included in the arts sector. ‘While there was a pan-disability sector, it wasn't serving the needs of visually impaired performers – or even audience members,’ she says.
Maria Oshodi studied Drama at degree level, particularly working in physical theatre. She says she repeatedly saw ‘an emphasis on the voice, rather than the body.’ Instead, she wanted to focus on the disabled body and make theatre that didn't shy away from physicalisation. ‘I found that when I was on tour with a show, very little was expected of me as a blind performer. When Extant was in its early days, we were interested in creating our own audio description in our performances, but we also wanted to show our movement. It's interesting from a theatrical perspective as well – we didn't have to be hidden.’
The first steps for Extant were as a loose collective working on funded research projects. It continued to be funded on an ad hoc basis by the Arts Council, an organisation with whom Extant has enjoyed a long collaboration (in fact, the Arts Council just announced that Extant will be part of its 2023-26 National Portfolio Investment Programme). In 1999, Extant went to Croatia to join the New Life Theatre Company, the oldest theatre company of blind and visually impaired performers, as part of its international festival.
© EXTANT
Maria Oshodi watches a group of performers in Japan
Pathways to success
The company has gone from strength to strength, touring nationally and internationally and helping blind and visually impaired performers find their voice – and a stage. As well as creating its own productions, Extant has become a leading force for bringing emerging artists into the industry. Its Pathways project is responsible for much of this, offering masterclasses, mentoring and showcase opportunities in its training programmes for 10 visually impaired people each year. ‘We now have an artist development manager working with our graduates and are receiving casting calls for diverse casting,’ says Oshodi. ‘We're feeding those industry with diverse voices.’ The company isn't simply focused on actors, with Oshodi placing an importance on getting those diverse voices into major roles around the industry. ‘We want to train the next generation. Where do you get training to become an artistic director? I had to learn the hard way. When I step down, I want to leave everything to new blood.’
The project is also outward-looking, determined to open up discussions around diversity around the industry. Extant offers visual impairment awareness training for companies and practitioners to help them develop inclusive ideas for workshops and rehearsals, as well as roundtable discussions on accessibility within theatre.
Creating a community
With so many pioneering projects over the last quarter century, what is Oshodi's proudest achievement? ‘Although the flagship projects we did pushed the envelope, I'm proud of the subtle things we've done like the relationships we've made. Our chair now was our first general manager back in 2008. We've got people writing works for the company now who were originally part of our youth theatre. They've grown up and had kids of their own but are still working with us.’
Looking back on 25 years of societal and artistic progress, Oshodi can see that there are many more opportunities for visually impaired performers. ‘The initial political change was done by militant disability activists,’ she says, citing ‘angry protest’ as one of the key contributors to this change. ‘There are now laws in place and there's generally much more of an awareness of inclusivity and inclusive practices, which is reflected in the arts and what it does.’
Radical representation
This progress has come with its own problems, however. ‘Previously, everyone in these spaces was speaking from a place of lived experience, but now inclusivity has become more central to the arts, there's an issue with non-disabled people running these spaces. This can mean that disabled people are brought in, but not in the right way. These spaces don't have the same radicalism they once did.’
This radical nature is something Extant still holds dear to what it does. While audio-described performances and ‘touch tours’ – opportunities for blind and partially sighted theatregoers to familiarise themselves with the set before a show – are now commonplace, Extant wants to push for representation in all aspects of production. Blind people are always in the room, whether that's in the office, workshops, rehearsal or design studios. For Oshodi, maintaining the representation across these spaces is crucial. While she remains critical of the industry and the changes that still need to be made, she's hopeful. ‘I'm very cheered by the willingness of the younger generation,’ she says. ‘Getting Extant to 25 years is incredible – I thought it would be a six-month project.’