Post by RS on Dec 6, 2013 16:22:54 GMT
The following is taken from the Daily Mail newspaper which ran the article today 6th December 2013
How Abba gave my disabled son his most joyful night ever: An audience roaring with delight. Mums dancing in the aisles. And a story to melt your heart
A hush descends in the Novello Theatre in London’s West End. Backstage, the actors have been briefed that the audience might react unusually.
The cast are all primed and rather nervous. We, a selected audience, are about to experience the 6,131st performance of Mamma Mia!, the Abba musical now in its 15th year.
A message comes over the tannoy: ‘Patrons are warned that the show contains platform boots and white Lycra.’ I can see one or two worried dads thinking about a dash for the exit.
I say that a hush has descended, but that’s not quite true. One lad next to my wife and me is already letting out the occasional shriek of excitement. He is very cheerful, although he doesn’t speak and is confined to a large buggy.
He’s never heard of Abba or been to a West End musical. His name is Hal, he is 16 and our youngest son. He has three older siblings who have (literally) pushed him about all his life.
It feels extraordinary that we are actually with him at a West End musical and about (in the words of Abba) to see that girl, watch that scene, digging the dancing queen.
This performance is specially for disabled youngsters like Hal and their families, and the place is packed. The reason Hal has never been to a London theatre is that it has always seemed too complicated and daunting a prospect. A trip anywhere with him involves an adapted van, umpteen medicines and, thanks to a kidney transplant that works all too well, about five pairs of spare dry trousers.
But Mamma Mia!’s ‘relaxed’ performance is specifically designed for families with a member who is disabled or with learning difficulties, aged three to 17. The whole idea is that he or she can clap or laugh or shout in all the wrong places and no one bats an eyelid.
It’s a brilliant idea and an important one, made possible by Mousetrap Theatre Projects, a no-nonsense charity dedicated to making theatre-going a reality for all sorts of disadvantaged children and their families.
Behind it is Susan Whiddington, the charity’s dynamo boss: a woman with a deep-seated belief in the liberating power of live theatre, and everyone’s right to enjoy it.
From my point of view, getting to the theatre was a big deal. It involved Hal bunking off early from Claremont Secondary, the wonderful specialist state school in Bristol that he adores.
We drove to the West End and, as my wife made her way up separately by train, Hal and I got the chance to go drinking before the show. It was our first visit to a pub together — a bonding, man thing. I had a pint and a bag of crisps. Hal ate the bag.
We then wheeled over the road to the handsome Novello Theatre, where friendly volunteers ushered us into the pavement-level dress circle.
It was 15 years ago that the show’s producer, Judy Craymer, persuaded Abba’s sceptical song-writers Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to let her make a stage musical out of their greatest hits. It is now a global industry with an eye-watering turnover.
For this one-off performance the charity Mousetrap had block-booked the entire performance at a whopping discount; they also provided additional staff, quantities of helpful transport information, and put bean bags and a live screen relay into one of the bars for anyone overwhelmed by it all.
Making a stair-infested, listed building work for an audience with serious disabilities is no easy feat. But they managed it When it comes to the West End theatre, it’s a rich man’s world (sorry to keep quoting Abba songs, but in a show featuring 22 absurdly catchy hits it gets to be a habit), way beyond the slender means of most families.
For this performance, the best seats in the house were reduced to £10 for youngsters and £20 for adults — less than a third of the usual price. Balcony seats were £2.50 for young’uns — £1.50 less than an interval ice cream.
Read the full article at www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2518994/Mamma-Mia-Abba-musical-gave-disabled-son-joyful-night-Novello.html
How Abba gave my disabled son his most joyful night ever: An audience roaring with delight. Mums dancing in the aisles. And a story to melt your heart
A hush descends in the Novello Theatre in London’s West End. Backstage, the actors have been briefed that the audience might react unusually.
The cast are all primed and rather nervous. We, a selected audience, are about to experience the 6,131st performance of Mamma Mia!, the Abba musical now in its 15th year.
A message comes over the tannoy: ‘Patrons are warned that the show contains platform boots and white Lycra.’ I can see one or two worried dads thinking about a dash for the exit.
I say that a hush has descended, but that’s not quite true. One lad next to my wife and me is already letting out the occasional shriek of excitement. He is very cheerful, although he doesn’t speak and is confined to a large buggy.
He’s never heard of Abba or been to a West End musical. His name is Hal, he is 16 and our youngest son. He has three older siblings who have (literally) pushed him about all his life.
It feels extraordinary that we are actually with him at a West End musical and about (in the words of Abba) to see that girl, watch that scene, digging the dancing queen.
This performance is specially for disabled youngsters like Hal and their families, and the place is packed. The reason Hal has never been to a London theatre is that it has always seemed too complicated and daunting a prospect. A trip anywhere with him involves an adapted van, umpteen medicines and, thanks to a kidney transplant that works all too well, about five pairs of spare dry trousers.
But Mamma Mia!’s ‘relaxed’ performance is specifically designed for families with a member who is disabled or with learning difficulties, aged three to 17. The whole idea is that he or she can clap or laugh or shout in all the wrong places and no one bats an eyelid.
It’s a brilliant idea and an important one, made possible by Mousetrap Theatre Projects, a no-nonsense charity dedicated to making theatre-going a reality for all sorts of disadvantaged children and their families.
Behind it is Susan Whiddington, the charity’s dynamo boss: a woman with a deep-seated belief in the liberating power of live theatre, and everyone’s right to enjoy it.
From my point of view, getting to the theatre was a big deal. It involved Hal bunking off early from Claremont Secondary, the wonderful specialist state school in Bristol that he adores.
We drove to the West End and, as my wife made her way up separately by train, Hal and I got the chance to go drinking before the show. It was our first visit to a pub together — a bonding, man thing. I had a pint and a bag of crisps. Hal ate the bag.
We then wheeled over the road to the handsome Novello Theatre, where friendly volunteers ushered us into the pavement-level dress circle.
It was 15 years ago that the show’s producer, Judy Craymer, persuaded Abba’s sceptical song-writers Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to let her make a stage musical out of their greatest hits. It is now a global industry with an eye-watering turnover.
For this one-off performance the charity Mousetrap had block-booked the entire performance at a whopping discount; they also provided additional staff, quantities of helpful transport information, and put bean bags and a live screen relay into one of the bars for anyone overwhelmed by it all.
Making a stair-infested, listed building work for an audience with serious disabilities is no easy feat. But they managed it When it comes to the West End theatre, it’s a rich man’s world (sorry to keep quoting Abba songs, but in a show featuring 22 absurdly catchy hits it gets to be a habit), way beyond the slender means of most families.
For this performance, the best seats in the house were reduced to £10 for youngsters and £20 for adults — less than a third of the usual price. Balcony seats were £2.50 for young’uns — £1.50 less than an interval ice cream.
Read the full article at www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2518994/Mamma-Mia-Abba-musical-gave-disabled-son-joyful-night-Novello.html