During lockdown, the theatre company created a version of Shakespeare’s Pericles in response to autistic individuals experiencing increasing isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic. Flute Theatre reaches these individuals by creating performances via Zoom for individual households, which all family members are invited to watch.
The performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is experienced through musical sensory games, each of which creates a different dream, shared between actors and autistic participants. Through these dream games, Flute Theatre shares the eyes of Titania, the ears of Bottom, the hand of Puck and the hearts of the lovers. Participants are invited to play any of these games with the company for as long as they like.
Artistic director of Flute Theatre Kelly Hunter MBE said, ‘Now with Covid-19 continuing to restrict the physical proximity between actor and autistic participant, these sensory games take on a deeper resonance as I continue to adapt my work from real space to virtual. Our production, with our interactive games of dream worlds and awakenings, will offer families who are marginalised and locked away a place to combat isolation, express their deeper feelings and shine their inner lights more brightly than before.’
The parent of eight-year-old, non-verbal Lumen said, ‘He has been given tools not offered anywhere else. He has been given a sense of security and familiarity, which for an autistic child, are not always easy to come by. He said “Hello” for the first time after listening to Heartbeat Hellos for weeks; he was captivated for the entire hour of Pericles online; he smiled, laughed and even emulated facial expressions of actors; and he has sung some of the songs he has heard from Flute’s Soundcloud as a way to self-regulate or to express joy.’
As well as these tailored performances, Flute Theatre has adapted its specialised games to be accessed and experienced online, in order to allow for continued participation throughout the crisis.
Families can book, with no age limits for participants, while schools can take part with up to three autistic individuals. Visit www.flutetheatre.co.uk/contact