Concrete Youth’s new multi-sensory theatre production, The Whispering Jungle, will head on a UK tour this autumn. The production will rehearse and premiere at Mercury Theatre, Colchester from 28-29 September.
Produced in association with the Mercury Theatre and supported by Arts Council England, Hull City Council and Back to Ours, The Whispering Jungle brings together ASMR, sensory play and sensory puppets in an immersive touring production for young audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).
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? Come and help the animals of the rainforest rebuild their home and realise that home really is wherever you’re with your family.
Multi-sensory performance is an inclusive, purpose-built production, designed to meet the needs of audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), often known as sensory beings. The fully immersive production is designed to enrich the audiences in the show’s world through sensory play. This includes sensory stimuli through puppetry, tactile materials, flower smells, bubbles, and auditory experiences through ASMR and live foley. The show, performed by a cast of actor-musicians, will utilise Makaton throughout and has been designed by experts in inclusive theatre for young audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).
The Whispering Jungle was developed off the back of Concrete Youth’s pioneering international research project, The ASMR Project, that brought together UK, US and Singapore academics, artists and professionals to explore the impact of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) on people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities for the very first time. Research findings from The ASMR Project and this subsequent production of The Whispering Jungle were developed in collaboration with 750 people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) across the UK.
Following its run in Colchester the show will head on a UK tour to: Barnsley Civic (3-4 October), Henshaw’s Arts & Craft Centre, Knaresborough (7-9 October), York Theatre Royal (12-13 October), Hull City Hall (16-17 October), Interplay Theatre, Leeds (19-20 October), The Customs House, South Shields (23 October), Nonsuch Studios, Nottingham (25-26 October), Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester (2 November), Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot (4-5 November), Dorchester Arts Centre (7-8 November), Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax (11 November), The Lowry, Salford (12 November), Norwich Theatre (15 November) and Applecart Arts, London (17-20 November).
The cast of The Whispering Jungle are Finn Kebbe as Monkey, Laura Kaye Thomson as Bird and Ewan S Pires as Turtle.
The production is devised by the company and will feature Music, Lyrics and Musical Direction by Frew, Direction and Lyrics by Belle Streeton with Daniel Swift as Creative Producer, Annabelle Moorman overseeing Audience Development, Isabel Potter as Production Manager, Charlie Mackenzie-Barrow as Technical Stage Manager, Hazel Warren-Cooke as Sound Engineer, Tom Smith as Sound Designer, Lu Herbert as Set Designer, Matthew Stirk as Set Builder, Amy Nicholson as Puppet Designer and Jessie Addinall as Lighting Designer.
Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased via www.concreteyouth.co.uk/thewhisperingjungle
