Versions for those marginalised by autism or displaced by war
Performances are developed using the Hunter Heartbeat method
A production of Shakespeare’s Pericles by Kelly Hunter at the Riverside Studios will be performed in two different ways with a version suitable for people with autism and those traumatised by war along with a more conventional staging.
The productions have run side by side in Sofia (including for Ukrainian families displaced by war alongside autistic individuals) before coming to London and Brighton.
Pericles for autistic individuals and their families is created using Flute’s founder and director Kelly Hunter MBE’s Hunter’s Heartbeat method - a series of sensory games which allow participants to share how it feels to be alive and celebrate their identity. It aims to enable people displaced by war, including Ukrainian families, to engage with the production along with those marginalised by autism.
Pericles for autistic individuals runs alongside the UK premiere of Flute Theatre’s Pericles, a full-scale production for general audiences that is informed by and embraces the company’s work with autistic individuals. The company share all the roles and play music live on stage.
Kelly Hunter said, “I created Flute Theatre to perform Shakespeare for audiences where the need for transcendence in theatre is greatest. With our double Pericles performances we offer a transformational experience to a genuinely inclusive audience who may not otherwise have the chance to attend. The story of people fleeing for their lives, losing loved ones at sea and experiencing miraculous reunions speaks loudly to our audiences today. To watch both shows allows an audience to see deeper into Shakespeare’s mysterious late play, and offers a unique way into Shakespeare’s ‘music of the spheres’.”
A parent of one participant said, “It was breath-taking, the way the actors adapted to incorporate what my autistic son was experiencing and communicating with his behaviour into the performance. They entered his world rather than demanding that he enter theirs. I could relax because my son was with people who really “got” him and understood how to work with autism.”
The production of Pericles for autistic individuals was created in Sweden in 2019 and has since been performed internationally by the company including an online adapted version during the pandemic in three languages across five continents. Flute’s double Pericles productions were first performed in May 2022, at the Craiova Shakespeare Festival in Romania, with a full-scale production of Pericles in English and Pericles for autistic individuals and refugee families in Romanian and Russian. They follow the success of Flute’s adaptations of Hamlet and Twelfth Night which toured the European festival circuit between 2015-2019.
Pericles is being performed from 8 -13 November and Pericles for autistic individuals runs from 9 – 12 November. Tickets for the conventional performances cost £18 and those for autistic individuals are 5 for one child aged 8 or over and with their family and siblings.
Tickets can be bought online or by calling the box office on 020 8237 1010.
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October 21, 2022
