Concrete Youth have announced a tour of their new production, The Whispering Jungle. The production will undertake a pilot tour to Hull Truck Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, Colchester Arts Centre and Dorchester Arts Centre this summer.
Following the success of their groundbreaking work on The ASMR Project in 2021, where they worked with international specialists to measure the impact of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) on people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, their findings have been collated to develop this new production. The first theatre production with ASMR for audiences with PMLD, The Whispering Jungle will integrate ASMR, sensory play and live foley to create an immersive rainforest setting this summer.
The Snake, the Turtle, the Monkey, and the Bird have all lost their home. Men in big, bright, yellow jackets came and chopped down all the trees. Now they’re forced away to fend for themselves, make their own new homes and pick up the pieces of the mess that the humans have left behind. How will the animals cope on their own? What can humans do to make the world better for the animals of the rainforest? And why is the Turtle so clumsy?
Concrete Youth’s new multi-sensory theatre production, The Whispering Jungle, brings together ASMR, sensory play and sensory puppets in this immersive touring production for young audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Come and help the animals of the rainforest rebuild their home and realise that home really is wherever you’re with your family.
CEO & Co-Artistic Director of Concrete Youth said: “We’re delighted to be touring this fantastic production to our audiences across the country, after the pandemic rudely interrupted our previous touring plans over the last couple of years. We’re also so excited to be taking the findings of last year’s trailblazing project on the road in the form of The Whispering Jungle. This pilot tour will help us to continue our work in last year’s project to examine the translation of our findings last year onto the stage in the form of a fantastic, immersive, multi-sensory theatre production. Audiences are in for a treat this summer.”
Ticket holders of The Whispering Jungle will also gain access to free, online sensory story versions of the show before and after the performance. Audiences will be sent a list of household versions of the sensory stimuli they will experience in the show, so audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities can become familiar with the characters, setting, plot and sensory stimuli before their trip to the theatre.
The Whispering Jungle is supported by Arts Council England, National Lottery Community Fund, Ashley Family Foundation, Back to Ours, Kilpatrick Fraser Charitable Trust, Hull City Council and Hull Truck Theatre.
Tour dates and booking information can be found at https://www.concreteyouth.co.uk/thewhisperingjungle
