Inclusivity discussion - some key issues and interesting solutions offered...

Who do we think comes to see our shows?

- Maybe we get more of a West End style audience - people who only see theatre once or twice a year for a special occasion
- People who enjoy the fact that they can run around 'where they like' and have a few drinks - don't have to adhere to normal theatre rules or conventions
- Not sure exactly who they are...?

How should we think about accessibility?

- Should the original creative idea be moulded to ensure that access needs are catered for after we've created the show
- Or should the potential access needs for patrons be considered throughout the creative process?
- The nature of site specific work is such that buildings don't necessarily come with regulation access routes etc.
- Let's not focus so much on what we're not doing or able to do at the moment, and remember to celebrate what we are doing
- We should be open about the issues we are having
- Creating inclusive work can be a great starting point for creativity

What if no one attended our relaxed/BSL/captioned performance?

- We shouldn't be disheartened and just stop creating those performances
- Reach out to communities and offer the work to them - invite them in and take time to build trust and relationship so that audiences feel that they are safe and will get a fantastic experience
- Do not homogenise the disabled community and offer inappropriate experiences e.g. having BSL performance at same time as a relaxed performance
- Ensure that the Box Office system is able to capture nuances of access needs - good communication between company and Box Office is really key

Avoiding 'tick box' and tokenistic inclusivity in our work?

- We need to invest more time and energy into reaching out to wider networks of actors/performers - don't just go back to same networks always - take risks and put the time in to work with people
- We don't want people to come and just be more like us - we want them to come and work with us so we can learn from each other and create something better from our potential differences/world views/perspectives/experiences.
- We don't want to be insular
- The Globe Theatre have a working group made up of disabled patrons and stakeholders who advise the theatre on it's access provisions

We want to maintain the secretive and surprising elements of our work - how do we do this whilst also ensuring that access needs are catered for?

- Give clear brush stroke instructions about potentially problematic parts of the show/event and then have some more detailed info available to those who request it
- Think about wording our access info, where appropriate, directly for children/young people so that they can make the decisions for themselves regarding which performances would be best for them