Flute Theatre announce The Tempest for autistic individuals and their families, will run at Riverside Studios, 15 – 19 August 2022.
Adapted by Flute Theatre’s Artistic Director Kelly Hunter MBE using the award-winning Hunter Heartbeat method, a series of sensory drama games, which allow autistic individuals to share how it feels to be alive and celebrate their identity, created by autistic individuals and Hunter over the last twenty years.
Up to twelve autistic individuals become the participants for each performance, playing with six actors in a circle on stage. The actors invite the participants to help them unravel Shakespeare’s story of wizards, magic and monsters through sensory games which everyone plays together. Each performance is adapted to the specific needs of the participants, however complex they may be. Their families or carers can join the circle to play or sit just behind to watch.
Kelly Hunter MBE, Artistic Director of Flute Theatre, said today, “The brave new world of our Tempest is a space where autistic individuals and their families are completely accepted for who they are, a magical island where everyone becomes free.”
The Tempest was the first production for autistic individuals created by Flute Theatre in 2014 as a partnership with RSC and Ohio State University. It has since toured around the world including the US, Spain and Japan. During the pandemic Flute Theatre adapted the production for online, delivering 976 online performances for the international autistic community across four continents and three languages.
