A Quiet Revolution in Theatre
Neurodiversity Network
A Quiet Revolution in Theatre
Tuesday 29 October 2024, 4pm
Online and in person
Register here for in-person attendance only.
Register here for online attendance only.
Online registration closes 15 minutes before the start of the event. You will be sent the joining link within 48 hours of the event, on the day and once again 10 minutes before the event starts.
A talk with Ness Brooks, playwright, author, theatre director and creator of groundbreaking inclusive method the Silent Approach
Ness Brooks will talk about her journey from mainstream and commercial theatre into high profile work for, and with, learning disabled and autistic actors. Exploring recent and current movements in theatre platforming actors with cognitive differences she’ll describe her challenge to the ‘hierarchy of speech’ and the inaccessibility of traditional rehearsal process.
Ness will talk about her work as the artistic director and founder of Separate Doors, a company of creatives with and without learning disabilities with a mission to increase the representation of neurodivergent people in theatre, film and TV.
Ness will set set up a couple of practical Silent Approach exercises for attendees to try, a conversation with Siân Grønlie will follow, finishing with a Q&A.
Biography:
Training as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Ness Brooks worked as a performer in all media. Accidentally breaking a foot on stage led to her writing her first play TAKE IT TO THE GREEN LIGHT BARRY (Man in the Moon/Stephen Joseph Theatre) and further plays have been produced at all scales (PENNY BLUE/LETS PRETEND/POOR MRS PEPYS/LOVE ME SLENDER/ALL AT SEA/SWAN SONG/HYPOTHERMIA pub. Samuel French and Josef Weinberger). She was Artistic Director of Dark Horse in Huddersfield for 7 seven years where she first created the Silent Approach with an ensemble of professional actors with Downs Syndrome. In 2020 she founded and became artistic director of Separate Doors (same house) and has worked with the Silent Approach in theatres across the UK and internationally. She was Sir Alan Ayckbourns’ first dramatist in residence at the Stephen Joseph theatre and recently she co-chaired the theatre committee of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. She’s currently developing a book – The Silent Approach, Stanislavsky without words – for Routledge and has authored and edited pamphlets for Separate Doors.
