House Lights Up!

House Lights Up! Researching Relaxed Performances for Neurodivergent Audiences in Scotland

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About House Lights Up!


In 2020/2021 theatre activity ceased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and BOP was supported by Federation of Scottish Theatre to redirect resources from Access Scottish Theatre to undertake a research project called House Lights Up!

The aim of this research was to better understand what the arts sector could do to further remove barriers and improve the experience for neurodivergent audiences of relaxed performances in Scotland.

The House Lights Up! report was launched in May 2023 at an event attended by 44 representatives from the performing arts sector which included a presentation of findings, sharing of audience perspectives and group discussions among workers and organisations  in the sector.

You can DOWNLOAD the House Lights Up! report below and WATCH the launch event with subtitles or BSL interpretation.

Launch Event Video: Subtitled

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction from Mairi Taylor and Callum Madge (Birds of Paradise Theatre Company)
08:10 Presentation of report by researchers Aby Watson and Zoë Halliday
41:10 Pre-recorded conversation with Jonathan Carlton, Autism Access Consultant, about his experiences as a neurodivergent audience member
52:45 Conversation with Jonathan Carlton and Morna McGeogh (Birds of Paradise Theatre Company)
01:02:00 Audience Q&A with Aby Watson, Zoë Halliday, Jonathan Carlton and Morna McGeogh
01:27:00 ‘Rewriting the Script’: a discussion of next steps with Mairi Taylor and Callum Madge.

Filming and video editing by Francisco M. Mallo.

Launch Event Video: BSL Interpreted

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction from Mairi Taylor and Callum Madge (Birds of Paradise Theatre Company)
08:10 Presentation of report by researchers Aby Watson and Zoë Halliday
41:10 Pre-recorded conversation with Jonathan Carlton, Autism Access Consultant, about his experiences as a neurodivergent audience member
52:45 Conversation with Jonathan Carlton and Morna McGeogh (Birds of Paradise Theatre Company)
01:02:00 Audience Q&A with Aby Watson, Zoë Halliday, Jonathan Carlton and Morna McGeogh
01:27:00 ‘Rewriting the Script’: a discussion of next steps with Mairi Taylor and Callum Madge.

BSL interpretation by Rachel Amey and Yvonne Waddell.
Filming and video editing by Francisco M. Mallo.

What Did We Learn?

Report Findings


The purpose of the House Lights Up! project aimed to build on the great work of Access Scottish Theatre venues over the last ten years and to ensure that venues and performances continue to develop the best access services for neurodivergent audiences.

House Lights Up! aimed to:

  • Evaluate the current provision of relaxed performance in Scotland;
  • Develop better understanding within the sector about what relaxed performance is;
  • Investigate how venues can better support and include neurodivergent audiences;
  • Instigate ongoing commitment to provide accessible performance in Scottish theatres.

Below are the key findings sections extracted from the full report:

Key Findings: Audience

Key Findings: Audience

  • Neurodivergent audiences – current and potential – are not necessarily aware of, or knowledgeable about, RP or the fact that RPs are aimed, designed for and marketed at them.
  • There is an assumption among neurodivergent audiences (and more generally) that RPs tend to be aimed at neurodivergent or learning-disabled children, parents with babies, and/or learning-disabled families only.
  • Performance venues can be sensorily overwhelming and stressful spaces for neurodivergent and learning-disabled audience members before the actual RP is considered.
  • Transition and navigation points (such as clear signage, friendly FoH members/greeters, and demarcated zones within the venue to enable audiences to avoid crowds) are of particular importance to the overall experience of neurodivergent and learning-disabled audiences, and lack
    of these points represent a significant enough barrier to prohibit attendance.
  • Noise is a dual issue both in the experience of it and/or the need to produce it.
    • Noise from/within venues as well as during performances can be overwhelming for
      neurodivergent audiences, indicating the need for venues to both consider noise and support
      neurodivergent audiences by setting up break-out rooms.
    • Equally, venues must also consider that neurodivergent audiences require spaces and
      performances in which they have the agency to make noise themselves when needed.
  • With regards to experiencing productions, following and understanding content and context is key to overall experience – sensory experience and exposure is only one element and not relevant for everyone.
  • Attitudinal reception and the behaviour of staff is, and remains, fundamental to attendance and the overall experience.

Key Findings: Industry

Key Findings: Industry

  • There is great passion and buy-in from industry staff to undertake this work and get it right.
  • There is discrepancy among the industry’s knowledge around RP, which is currently based on inherited or anecdotal practice and understanding. Greater knowledge development and exchange is required regarding (i) what RP is; (ii) who RPs are for; (iii) why RP is important; (iv) how to go about making RPs; (v) the demographic data of neurodivergent audiences; (vi) the work of other venues/companies offering RP; (vii) the benefits of RP (regarding both audience access and the inclusivity agendas and policy of the industry).
  • Knowledge (of the above) built through training may be undermined by a lack of arts-specific expertise in that training and lack of understanding of the full range of non-neuronormative experiences.
  • There is a focus on productions being adapted rather than the venue and experience round the performance when both have impact.
    • Production adaptation is generally inconsistent and often out of the control of the venue.
    • The venue environment which is in full purview of staff could be developed more thoroughly to create a more consistent audience experience.
  • Staff capacity to enact work and policy is often prohibited by real and perceived barriers.
    • Cost (of ticket price for RPs; training staff; funding salaried inclusion and access roles; and providing sensory pack provisions).
    • Resources (venues feeling ill-equipped to support or promote RPs with short technical rehearsal periods; lack of training and/or in-house knowledge of making RPs; and costs associated with developing meaningful relationships with neurodivergent audiences).
    • Managerial buy-in (from top to bottom so that Chief Executives, Artistic Directors and Board members train alongside front of house staff; enshrining targets in organisational goals and/or mission statements).
  • Much practice and activity is not systematically tested or evaluated unless project funded. This impacts on embedding organisational knowledge and in transference through changing staffing.
  • There is a general uplift in better practice where activity is specifically funded due to accountability and reporting to funders.

Launch Event Findings


The second half of the launch event in May 2023 focused on the arts workers and organisations in the room, who discussed actions that could be taken within the sector to address the findings of the report. To do this we responded to the four key visions within the report:

  1. A nuanced and evolving understanding of RP.
  2. Policies and procedures that concern neurodivergent people are created in consultation with neurodivergent people.
  3. Audiences are easily able to understand how your organisation defines a relaxed environment, and to discover details of how individual performances are being relaxed.
  4. Your spaces feel welcoming, and your events feel accessible and inclusive.

Participants were able to upload ideas and actions to an online platform. Using the streamed responses, BOP created a poll which allowed everyone to vote for their favourite suggestions. Using the link below, you can download a summary of the top five actions that the people in the room identified as being most important for each vision:

Concluding Actions from House Lights Up! Launch

Here, you can read all of the actions that were generated in the room:

All Actions from House Lights Up! Launch

Finally, you can read a summary evaluation of the launch event:

House Lights Up! Launch Summary and Evaluation

What Happens Now?


Following the project and the sector discussions at the launch event, Birds of Paradise and Access Scottish Theatre have committed to the following actions before April 2025: 

  1. Audience communications: In collaboration with Federation of Scottish Theatre, we will investigate ways that AST can further support the articulation and marketing of RP to audiences in Scotland.
    • Step 1
      • Create template form to gather information enabling promotion of venue-specific access information for audiences.
    • Step 2
      • Develop online workshop space to investigate the articulation of “house styles” and venue access commitments in terms of relaxed performance.
  2. Sector communications: We will reconvene a sector gathering in one year to reflect on developments, with opportunities to present ongoing development work.
  3. Sector practice development: We will work with Zoë Halliday, Jon Carlton and other neurodivergent trainers to explore increasing opportunities for training and conversations in the Scottish sector. Models of development that BOP could facilitate include:
    • developing venue and company approaches to relaxed performance;
    • auditing and mystery shopping utilising the BOP Youth Arts Consultants;
    • direct delivery or signposting of training packages or options.

Who Was Involved?


After an open call out in 2020, BOP recruited Aby Watson, Thom Scullion and Zoë Halliday as the researchers. Aby and Thom (job share) had a focus on audiences who attend relaxed performances, while Zoë focused on working with industry professionals.

Audience participants, including neurodivergent theatregoers and their supporters, were recruited through a Scotland-wide call out. Industry participants were recruited by directly contacting venues and production companies within the Access Scottish Theatre membership pool. You can find more information about participant recruitment in the full report.

MEET THE RESEARCHERS

Left to right: Aby Watson, Thom Scullion, Zoë Halliday

Aby's bio

Aby Watson is an artist, dance maker, performer, researcher, and facilitator based in Glasgow. Aby is neurodivergent, with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD, and she applies this vibrant neurodivergent energetic perspective across her whole practice. Her performance work has been seen across the UK and internationally at venues The Southbank Centre, Sophiensaele, Tramway and Wales Millennium Centre, amongst others. She is incredibly passionate about neurodivergent authorship and visibility in performance, and is the founder and chair of the Scottish Neurodiverse Performance Network. 

Aby trained in Contemporary Performance Practice at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she received honours of the first class. She is currently a postgraduate student at the RCS, doing a practice-led autoethnographic PhD, titled ‘Disordering Dance’, an artistic study into dance making from a lived experience of dyspraxia. As a freelance facilitator, Aby has worked with the National Theatre of Scotland, RCS, Glass Performance, Vox Liminus, House for an Art Lover, and Milton Arts Project amongst others.

Thom's bio

Thom Scullion is an artist, facilitator and researcher based in Glasgow. Through his postgraduate research at the Glasgow School of Art, Thom’s research focused on participatory performance, roleplaying games and audience co-authorship. He has co-facilitated on three distinct research projects about drama and autism for Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and National Theatre Scotland. In 2019 he co-hosted Artists Talk Autism with artist Steven Fraser, a panel event as part of NTS’ Engine Room programme.

Zoe's bio

Zoë Halliday is a Scottish Performer and Facilitator based in Glasgow. In 2012 she embarked on the “Limitless” project in collaboration with Isobel Mair School, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), NHS and National Autistic Society (NAS) which sparked her passion and dedication to establishing better working guidelines within a drama and Autism context. Zoë was the movement director for the National Theatre of Scotland’s (NTS) production of “The Reason I Jump” and has just recently finished the international world tour of “War Horse”.

Zoë holds a BA Musical Theatre (2012) and MEd Learning and Teaching in Performing Arts specialising in Drama and Autism (2018) from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

How Was the Research Funded?


Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of theatres, there was no requirement for printed Access Scottish Theatre guides.

In consultation with Federation of Scottish Theatre, Birds of Paradise decided to use the budget usually associated with producing the AST guide for the House Lights Up! research project.

At a time when very little accessible performance was being made, this research project was a suitable way to spend the AST budget as it will have a positive impact for audiences and will improve the accessibility of the sector.

Access Scottish Theatre is produced by Birds of Paradise on behalf of Federation of Scottish Theatre, funded by Creative Scotland.

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