The theatre of mixed abilities

Almost 15 years ago, before India was shining or booming, a journalist put herself in a wheel chair and tried to use public transport in our Maximum City. The findings were depressing although unsurprising: lack of access, support, or even consideration from services and onlookers. So many years later, not much has changed, except that the journalist is now also a playwright. But access for people of disabilities is still woefully inadequate.

While we have ‘developed’ in various sectors and fields, and revelled in the fact that we have a young population, we have continued to ignore people on the fringes of society. Bombay is a city for young, energetic people. Using public transport or streets or toilets are all designed for the majority user, not the full spectrum of users. There have been some improvements: escalators at some railway stations (but only for going up) and ramps onto some pavements (only in South Bombay).

Within the auditorium context, it is woefully inadequate. Wheel chair accessbarely exists, and often audience members have to suffer the indignity of being carried up a flight of stairs, both in multiplexes and theatre venues.

However the greatest underrepresentation is on stage (and screen). Actors of mixed abilities often only make an appearance in shows made by their own NGOs. And usually these performances are greeted with pity, where always the chief guest will commend the bravery of the artists and the energy of the organisers. There are a few exceptions: Astad Deboo's company has done fantastic work with hearing impaired dancers, and ACE involves a variety of participants in their large children’s productions. However, is this enough

Strangely, this is the one area where India has a lot in common with the ‘developed’ world. In spite of all ramp accessible venues, and specific performances in a show run for the hearing or visually impaired, the representation of mixed abilities artists on stage has been lacking. Some trailblazers like Claire Cunningham, who performs on crutches, have been part of a process to bring respect to disabled performers. Recently, the Going Solo Festival brought Robert Softley Gale to India with his If These Spasms Could Speak and it was a revelation to see a performer with a physical and speech impediment not ask for allowances, and tell a fantastic story. However, probably the greatest acceptability for actors of mixed abilities has been the unprecedented success and popularity of the character of Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. He has made dwarves ‘cool’.

All these thoughts came rushing back to me, as I walked into the West Yorkshire Playhouse (WYP) in Leeds to catch a performance of The Government Inspector. WYP is not a fringe venue. It is mainstream and has a strong audience base. I didn't know it at the time, but this was a production of a melange of actors of varying disabilities.

The play itself is not one of my favourites, but it is a 'classic farce', and therefore you kind of know what to expect. The design of this particular production however was revolutionary. The play was also for all sorts of audiences, so there were people in wheelchairs, hearing aids, canes, etc. lining up outside the door. It was the first time since I had seen such a diverse audience. And once the play began I realised why. Not only were the actors of varying abilities, but everything they said or did was communicated through various devices. Every line that an actor said (or signed) was projected on the large surtitle screen upstage centre, and signed by another actor in costume next to the speaker, and also audio described by one of the guards. The captioning and describing was all devised as part of the performance and not separated away from the action as is normally the case.

I must admit I was a little distracted t first, but soon was able to tune out the other languages being represented. Once the novelty wore off, I could get down to actually appreciating the play. It was a revelation. The actors were fantastic, as accomplished and skilled as there more able bodied counterparts. The two dwarves who played mother and daughter were brilliant.

I left the play filled with excitement. Around the world, and particularly in the UK, 'blind casting' is being applied, where you allow the audience’s imagination to create the picture. So therefore you can have a colour blind casting, where a black boy plays Billy Elliot, or gender blind casting where actress Maxine Peake plays Hamlet, and ability blind casting, where you cast actors of mixed abilities because they are good and don't pigeon hole them for parts like Richard the third. It's an exciting time to be in the theatre.

The rules are being broken, and the reality on stage is now beginning to reflect the reality of our communities.

In India, particularly, this is something we need. Maybe the best way to make our society sensitive to people of disabilities is to not to pity them or parade them; but instead empower them by bringing them front and centre on our stages and screens. Then, maybe, we will all be encouraged to bring out the relative that we have hidden away and won't talk about, and see them as fully human. Only then will we start building ramps and lifts and wheelchair accessible venues and toilets for them.