THE SKINNY
The Future of Access Theatre
Lockdown afforded one unexpected benefit, as it allowed disabled people at-home access to the arts that previously did not exist. As we return to live presentation, we ask some of Scotland’s arts institutions how they will continue to work to broaden accessibility. This is the penultimate part of our series platforming emergent writers, produced in partnership with Edinburgh International Festival Interviews: Jessica Secmezsoy-Urquhart Illustrations: AJ Higgins
July 2021 — Feature
I
t was in April during my talk appearance at the Glasgow Zine Festival that the changing nature of disabled access to theatre, the arts, entertainment and festivals hit home. My mother was in the audience. I was not in the same room as her or any of the people watching my talk. It and the whole festival were virtual this year and delivered via Zoom. I was sitting in my room on Zoom while my mother – who has rare autoimmune conditions like Behçet and Dercums, and uses a wheelchair – sat in bed watching it alongside everyone else present in the call. As someone autistic, with anxiety, I felt less nervous and more confident doing the talk in my own space than in a public room I was unaccustomed to. Afterwards, my mum noted that if the event had been an in-person one then it was very likely she would have been unable to attend. From doctor appointments to concerts, my mother’s ill-health and lack of mobility often make her miss things even when she has intended to go. Past in-person performances or events I’ve been part of have often been missed due to her conditions and the sudden flare-ups of her symptoms. My mother’s words drove home to me how increased digital access to the arts and entertainment has improved the lives of many disabled people, including her and me. This pandemic, COVID-19, has on the whole impacted disabled people negatively and impacted disabled people more than other groups. It is we, young and old, who are described as having died of COVID due to pre-existing conditions. It is we who were pressured earlier in the pandemic to sign do not resuscitate orders by an overwhelmed NHS; it is we who were forgotten in care homes when the scandal surrounding COVID’s spread in care came out; it is we who (often already isolated at home) have had to shield away for over a year; it is we who have had appointments to operations we need cancelled (sometimes resulting in our deaths) and it is we whom the parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee has called for an inquiry on behalf of, as the pandemic has led to ‘profoundly unequal adverse effects’ on our lives. If you have ever wanted proof of the social theory of disability – the idea that someone is
disabled by societal oppression, not their condition on its own – then the last year shows it. In the past, when disabled people wanted to work remotely, have access to online streams or virtual performances of entertainment, and gain any other number of forms of access, we were ignored or told it could not be done as we were a group in the minority. Come the pandemic, with everyone required to stay at home due to lockdown in 2020, the fact a majority of people needed the same things suddenly made all this access incredibly easy to provide. Despite how galling this rapid change to meet able-bodied, neurotypical people’s needs has felt for the disabled community whose attempts to gain this access had been ignored, we have benefited from it. One of these benefits has been the fact public demand has made entertainment more accessible to disabled people in their own homes.
“If you have ever wanted proof of the social theory of disability – the idea that someone is disabled by societal oppression, not their condition on its own – then the last year shows it” In-person access to cinemas, theatres, art galleries, festivals and concerts has often been lacking for disabled people in Scotland, although progress has been made slowly in the last decade. Improvements range from the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow having BSL, subtitles and physical accessibility at the centre — 24 —
of their exhibitions, to hosted film festivals or the National Theatre of Scotland having sign language incorporated into shows, to the growing presence of subtitled, audio description and autism-friendly ‘relaxed’ film screenings offered by the likes of Glasgow Film Theatre and Dundee Contemporary Arts. Simple things like difficulty reading lips, being forbidden to leave a performance space briefly due to a condition like Crohn’s acting up, uncomfortable chairs which disabled audience members can’t use, or sensory overload for autistic audience members can make in-person events difficult for disabled people to enjoy or even attend. The pandemic made commitment to online access essential for organisations in the arts and entertainment industries to survive this past year and as a result disabled audience members benefited. Overnight, it felt like the disabled community had the access to concerts, films, festivals and plays we had been fighting for. Many of these accessible online events and performances – due to the nature of Zoom and digital streaming platforms – have been able to incorporate accessibility further via captions, sign language and audio description. Disabled people over this last year, during which many of us felt trapped in our homes and at risk, could attend a play or multiple plays by the National Theatre from the past or present via the NT at Home platform by subscribing or paying for a particular show we were interested in. During COVID, films have been released via streaming platforms and via VOD, and arts festivals have pivoted online, enabling disabled people and performers to ‘attend’ screenings and festivals across the world they might have been unable to if events were in-person. As art galleries, theatres, festivals, cinemas and more open physically to the public again many disabled people are asking ourselves a fundamental question: Will the lifechanging digital access we’ve finally won after so long remain after all lockdown restrictions are eased? When the public as a whole does not need it to engage with performances and entertainment, will these innovations be put aside, and will COVID impact in-person accessibility going forward?
