Sensory Theatre

Sensory Theatre is an accessible step-by-step guide to creating theatre for inclusive audiences, such as babies and toddlers, or young people on the Autism Spectrum or affected by other neuro-divergent conditions. In this updated and considerably expanded second edition, ten new chapters share the diverse experiences of Sensory Theatre companies across the world.

The books traces Sensory Theatre’s core work and fundamental concepts, harnessing the power of five or more senses to address its participants who have different ways of relating to the world around them. It offers a host of practical techniques drawn from over forty years of experience with Oily Cart, especially radical innovations such as theatre on trampolines, in hydrotherapy pools, and with flying audiences in the company of aerial artists. The book also includes copious photos from the Oily Cart’s archives and many links to video examples of the company’s work. While the first half of the book presents an insightful overview of Oily Cart’s history and pioneering the development of work for the very young including Baby Theatre, and those described in the UK as having Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), the second half of this book is dedicated to Sensory Theatre companies around the world. They explore how they adopted different techniques, such as incorporating on-line and digital programming with their analogue multi-sensory work.

• Readers will learn how to:
• Research the intended audience while not being led astray by labels.
• Create a welcoming, immersive sensory space in classrooms, nurseries, school halls and playgrounds.
• Recruit, audition, cast and run rehearsals.
• Ensure that the production is truly sensory and interactive.

Written for theatre practitioners as well as educators, the second edition of Sensory Theatre is ideal for Theatre for Young Audiences, Drama in Education and specialised Applied Theatre courses.

Tim Webb is one of the three co-founders of the Oily Cart. He was the Artistic Director and chief writer of the company from 1981 to his retirement in 2018. During this time, he led a team that created more than 85 productions for young people including those labelled as having Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities or other complex disabilities. He has taught and directed sensory, immersive and interactive theatre in Belgium, Canada, China, Ireland, Russia, Sweden, Abu Dhabi and the USA, as well as throughout the UK. In 2011, he was honoured to be appointed MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his work for young people with disabilities. In 2018, he was made an Honorary Fellow of Rose Bruford College.