Extant Theatre Company: View from the top

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.