A fascinating piece by Jenifer Toksvig from The Stage (London, Eng.) Nov. 4, 2024.
Everyone is welcome at the theatre, unless…
Opinion Nov 4, 2024 by Jenifer Toksvig
theatremaker
Jenifer Toksvig is a neurodivergent theatremaker who challenges traditional theatre models, advocating for greater accessibility and inclusivity through her process, The Copenhagen Interpretation
Theatre: Everyone is Welcome
Summarised by Jenifer Toksvig
Everyone is welcome at the theatre, unless you cannot see yourself in the social group ‘theatregoers’ because of assumptions around:
• audience identity, eg ‘highbrow’;
• theatre experience, eg ‘boring’;
• subject relatability, eg ‘sanctimonious’.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot, in general and/or in the moment:
• attend at one of the limited available dates and times;
• afford the costs, time and energy necessary for attendance;
• physically leave your house and travel;
• be confident of your own personal safety, eg when travelling, or at the venue;
• tolerate possible security searches;
• physically access all public areas of the venue, eg performance space, toilets;
• comfortably be in public, potentially in a crowd;
• be punctual (note: late access, where permissible/possible, may not be acceptable);
• be confident that you will be able to stay for the duration;
• manage unexpected occurrences.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot:
• find anything that appeals to you in the limited productions available to you;
• make provision for your own access support needs and those of any dependants with you, including anything expected (eg regulating temperature) and unexpected (eg first aid);
• risk potential harm from performance content – psychological/emotional (eg subject matter or non-consensual participation) or physical (eg allergens).
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot purchase a ticket for a seat or space:
• that can accommodate you, your belongings and/or mobility aids, and any required companions, comfortably enough to stay for the duration;
• that will afford you an accessible experience, eg a clear view of sign language interpretation;
• at a performance where any access support needs (eg audio description) can be met, if that provision meets your specific needs (eg variations of ‘relaxed’ performance).
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot attend because of issues with any items or mobility aids you would need to bring with you, including:
• transportation, safety and/or security of your belongings;
• impact of being able, or required, to store items in a cloakroom;
• accessibility in good time within the building, eg to use the toilet or attend to any dependants;
• need to efficiently move anything blocking the passage of others, including yourself/any dependants;
• suitability of items, eg things that make no noise.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot remember in good time:
• that you are going to the theatre;
• the arrangements made;
• what to bring, eg tickets, and where to find them.
Note: terms such as ‘acceptable’ and ‘reasonable’ are typically defined by common understanding (of which everyone may not be aware), policed by audience members (which could include anyone) and enforced accordingly by venue staff. There is no opportunity for explanation or reasoning at the moment of policing or enforcement. The consequences of being deemed to be in breach are immediate tacit or overt shaming in situ, and may also include untimely ejection from the venue and further public shaming on social media.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot, for the duration of the performance, be comfortable enough to remain:
• seated (note: early exit may or may not be possible/acceptable);
• focused on the performance;
• motionless, except for typically sanctioned movements (eg applause) and reasonable momentary self-care adjustments;
• silent, except for typically sanctioned noises (eg applause) and reasonable noises (eg a momentary cough).
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot optimally:
• see and hear the performance, or engage with replacements, eg audio description or sign language interpretation;
• tolerate sensory experience of the performance as designed.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot avoid disrupting the experience of others who are involved in or attending the performance, by methods including:
• taking up more than the allotted space;
• causing any sensory distraction;
• behaviour that might be interpreted as disrespectful;
• preventing the performance from being delivered exactly as prepared.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot avoid apparently or actually:
• capturing the performance using technology;
• using technology for reasons unconnected to the performance;
• being indifferent to unreasonable disruptions of which you are the cause.
Everyone is welcome, unless you cannot, in response to the performance:
• applaud as anticipated for an acceptable duration;
• limit spontaneous expressions of emotion to reasonable, momentary utterances at acceptable times, ideally only where collective expression is premeditated by design;
• stand up if it is necessary to continue your own experience, or noteworthy that you are not standing, when others do;
• cause only acceptable, momentary disruption where symptoms of, for example, a mental health condition are triggered.
Everyone is welcome to experience sparks of creativity and thought. This welcome is limited to:
• experiencing only this specifically crafted telling of the story;
• engaging only one time per ticket, regardless of your situation at that time;
• typically having a predominantly unaccompanied experience.
This welcome does not include the right, during the experience, to:
• seek clarification, eg have something repeated or get more information;
• comment on your experience, or explore other versions/perspectives with those who are present (audience or company) or absent;
• contribute to the creation of the work, except by limited invitation, eg invited audience suggestions;
• contribute to the performance, except by limited invitation, eg defined audience responses (of which you may not be aware/informed);
• join in with, for example, songs, unless by clearly defined invitation, whether or not the production intentionally uses known works to trigger familiarity;
• gain any experience, knowledge or understanding of the process of bringing this specific work to performance, outside limited highlights, eg in a programme.
All welcome terminates at the end of the performance, when you are expected to leave the building as quickly and efficiently as possible, including:
• retrieving any belongings;
• making adequate preparations for yourself, and any dependants with you, for your onward journey.
Many theatres receive public funding, and everyone is welcome to donate money, so we can continue to welcome everyone.