Alfred Robbins Lodge

Your donations have brought theatre to sense-impaired children

A grant of £4,500 from London Freemasonry has enabled Go Live Theatre Projects (formerly Mousetrap Theatre Projects), a charity that uses theatre to improve the lives of disadvantaged and disabled children.

W Bro John Little SLGR reports

They will deliver two bespoke family theatre days – ‘Envision’ and ‘Stage Seen’ – for Sight Impacted (SI) and D/deaf children.

NB: In this article, we use “D/deaf” to include Deaf (whole of life, identified), deaf (audiological) and hard of hearing.

Using these theatre related initiatives, young people who are SI and/or D/deaf are able to access London’s world- class theatre and immerse themselves in the experience through activities designed to uplift and inspire them and build their confidence. 

Jemima Unsworth, the charity’s Development Officer says: “Too many young people experience physical, social and financial barriers to seeing and participating in theatre. Go Live is here to change that. We take around 10,000 children and young people and their families to see London’s top theatre at highly subsidised prices each year and provide specialist access support to those who need it. We run theatre education projects in schools to develop skills that support students’ studies and future careers. Our afterschool and holiday drama projects with youth groups focus on building self-confidence and developing valuable life and social skills. Whether it’s a theatre trip, a drama games session, or an education project, Go Live contributes towards a happier, enriched childhood and a positive future.

“In July and August 2023, we took 16 SI children and 20 D/deaf children and their families to see accessible performances of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium. Ahead of the performances, we delivered an afternoon of activities for the families including on-stage touch tours, Q&As with members of the cast, and drama workshops themed around the story and characters in The Wizard of Oz. Delivered by our highly experienced drama facilitators, our activities were designed to make the young people’s theatre experience even more valuable and inspiring by enhancing their understanding of the show, giving them a chance to meet and interact with other children, and developing their confidence. Our Stage Seen workshops were delivered by one D/deaf and one hearing facilitator to provide D/deaf representation and instill pride in the D/deaf children and their identity.

“We know that so often, SI and D/deaf children can feel excluded and that their parents find that their child’s access needs can be an afterthought or a barrier to doing things as a family. We went above and beyond to ensure that these children felt special and included and that everyone could participate together. We received wonderful feedback from parents and guardians from both theatre days and were pleased to have delivered another successful summer of specialist theatre days for families and gave 36 SI and D/deaf young people access to a huge West End hit.

“We are very grateful for the generous donation from London Freemasonry which has helped us achieve this.”

The feedback from parents has been very positive. One parent attending the Envision day says, “Thank you so much for the opportunity to come to this day. We very much enjoyed it as a family. We appreciate the effort you put in to making the workshops so fun and accessible for the children. It was incredibly valuable for [my son] to access and enjoy the show.” Another attending Stage Seen says, “Our child notices when workshop leaders wear hearing aids or cochlear implants, so it is always great when he can see adult D/deaf role models in different jobs. It is lovely to be able to participate in these things as a family – meeting other D/deaf and hearing siblings is great as parents and for his hearing sibling too… Whilst our child meets other D/deaf children at school, his brother has fewer opportunities to, other than meeting family friends, and seeing D/deaf adult role models is equally important for him too…Thanks so much for a lovely afternoon – we took home a programme and our son has been reading it and was inspired to start writing his own play.” 

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 55 Summer 2024 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 55 here.