The 1970s saw massive waves heading towards the Disability Rights movement. While Graeae would not officially be founded until 1980, founders Richard Tomlinson and Nabil Shaban, met and began working towards the vision of Graeae throughout the decade. Productions, Ready Salted Crips and its eventual definitive version, and Graeae’s first production, Sideshow took shape during this time. 

Company Background

In 1972 Nabil Shaban interviewed at Hereward College in Coventry to do a course for the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in business studies where Richard Tomlinson sat on the interview panel. When asked by Richard if he had any interest in drama, Nabil informed the panel that it was his greatest desire to be an actor.

Founding Graeae

In 1978 the United Nations announced that they would be designating 1981 the International Year of Disabled People (IYDP). Richard recognised this as an excellent opportunity to take advantage of and it was time for Nabil and Richard to launch their company. Launching at this time would not only utilise the international spotlight on disabled people, but there was a potential for additional funding opportunities throughout that year. Nabil and Richard then made it their goal to be fully launched, up and running in 1980.  

Richard thought they should have a goal to tour internationally within their first year. Given his new contacts at the University of Illinois, they set up a tour of the state which would run from June-August 1980. There was also an additional opportunity at the International Conference on Disability and Rehabilitation in Winnipeg, Canada which would give the company an opportunity to present to medical professionals around the world. Anyone who knows Graeae knows that this was an opportunity to subvert expectations and publicise their new company. The duo agreed to continue to devise and adjust Sideshow as Graeae’s first official production for this tour.

Before they could begin advertising and recruiting, they needed a name. Richard and Nabil agreed that the name should reference disability and come from the classics. As Nabil has stated, “the idea of using something from something from mythology to dispel and shatter the misconceptions and myths about disability, was very important and we wanted to contain that notion within the name of this embryonic theatre company. We were in the business of myth breaking.”  

Naming Graeae: 

The Myth: According to Greek legend, the three Graeae sisters shared an eye and a single tooth. When Perseus stole them, the sisters revealed how to kill the Medusa, but he broke his oath and threw away their life source. The Graeae ethos is grounded in working together and sharing resources. 

We are often asked how Graeae is pronounced so we wanted to share the correct pronunciation: “grey-eye”. 

The below animation, with illustration by Graeae patron Sir Peter Blake, narration by Graeae co-founder Nabil Shaban, words by Write to Play writer Sean Burn and animation by Dog & Rabbit, was originally created for the Graeae and Central Illustration Agency exhibition Reframing the Myth exhibition in February 2016.

Original artwork by patron Sir Peter Blake.

Recruitment begans in the Summer of 1979, Nabil and Richard hold a number of workshops to assess potential interest. These workshops led to hiring a cast of six actors, 3 men, and 3 women, all with different impairments. Rehearsals began at the Diorama in February 1980 and continued until the premiere performance in May 1980 at Surrey University in Guildford. The company then quickly left for Illinois where they would perform 27 shows in 23 days, each of these performances were in different venues all over the states. The tour was sponsored by the University of Illinois and allowed them to present to a variety of audiences including children, the elderly, and those in hospitals. Following the tour, they went up to Canada for the International Conference on Disability and Rehabilitation. Graeae did not adapt their production to suit the needs and wants of medical professionals at the event. Graeae was not created on the basis of drama therapy, Graeae was created to be a professional theatre which also subverted attitudes, misconceptions, and disrupt myths about disability. Incredibly, it did not matter that the script was honest, cutting, and critical of pity, the company was met with excellent reviews everywhere they went. 

Following their overwhelming success on their first international tour, the company returned to Britain for a tour around England and Wales beginning August 1980. This tour continued through the end of 1980 and garnered national attention leading to the BBC to film a special Arena documentary. The documentary followed their work and was aired to coincide with the opening of the IYDP. 

Sideshow premieres at Surrey University before embarking on a tour of North America. In the Autumn BBC2 begins filming a documentary on the company which will be aired to coincide with the opening of the IYDP.

Graeae’s first Theatre in Education (T.I.E) show, Endless Variety Show, written by Chris Speyer, tours the UK. Graeae participates in the first Day of Disabled Artists in Covent Garden. Graeae launches Patsy Rodenburg’s Not Much to Ask, an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s “Villette”. The show went on to tour the UK with Arts Council of Great Britain funding. Finally, a team of ten company members took a new production of Casting Out written and directed by Nigel Jamieson on a tour of India.

Following the success of the Casting Out tour in India, the production has a stint in London before going on a further UK tour. Later in the year, Cocktail Cabaret devised by Yvonne Allen, Bryony Lavery, Annie Lewis, Geoff Parker, Tracy Thomas, Isobel Ward, and Elly Wilkie is taken to Fringe Festival. At the end of the year, Graeae’s interpretation of Frankenstein began an ACGB funded tour that would stretch into the following year.

In Spring, a T.I.E. production, Equality Street, devised by Ashley Grey and Geoff Armstrong goes on a school tour. This tour initially targeted schools throughout London, however due to the success of these initial presentations, the tour continued throughout the rest of the year and led to a training course that was hosted in 1988.

A tour of England and Wales of Noel Grieg’s Working Hearts presented audiences with a reflection of the relationship of disability artistic expression throughout the rest of the year.

Spring:

• Equality Street, a T.I.E. production went on an initial school tour throughout London during the Easter Holiday period. Further touring continued throughout the year. The production involved an additional training course hosted in 1988.

August- November:

• Working Hearts goes on tour of England and Wales.

  
  Working Hearts in Graeae’s words: “In Working Hearts, GRAEAE theatre looks beneath the surface of disability as a simple ‘issue’ and reflects upon those things which disabled people are often denied – love, sexuality, art, desire, aspiration. The story of four people is interwoven with a surreal commentary on the nature of theatre itself, questioning the nature of ‘work’ and art’. A Chinese box of wit, pathos and anger, this play represents a new development in GRAEAE’s work, and a new challenge to the notion that disabled artists are limited in their areas of expression.”

  Reviewer’s words: “Greig’s play, which was cast soon after he began working on it, was written for the individual performers’ abilities. Set in a brush-making factory, the play highlights the way in which those with disabilities are taught not to have any expectations of their real abilities but are constantly limited and defined by other people’s attitudes. In both form (in using disabled actors) and content the play challenges theatrical conventions.” Helen Rose, Time out, 23-29 July 1986.

Equality Street continues to tour throughout the first part of the year. Private View, by Tasha Fairbanks, is Graeae’s first women’s project. The production toured throughout the UK and internationally in Malaysia.

The Cornflake Box, Graeae’s first community play premieres. The production focused on the independent living movement and governmental regulations around accessible housing. 

The Independent Living Fund is introduced.

T.I.E. production, Why? premieres in London and tours throughout the UK. The production reflects on growing disability rights movement and disabled people’s desire to be in control of their own lives.

January:

• Why? T.I.E show premieres in London and continues on tour.

  Graeae’s words: “In “Why?” Graeae Theatre company expose the myths and prejudices that surround disabled peoples lives, and which are present to a greater or lesser extent in the lives of everyone. The play reflects and deals with the growing assertiveness of disabled people in their wish to be in control of their own lives.”

  Reviewer’s words: “Compelling, provocative theatre dealing complex issues, but titled with one simple word –

  Why?…While presenting a message, they never preached – instead presenting a forceful performance while illustrating points in a play that could never fail to be an eye opener.” -Nicholas Spencer, Yorkshire Evening Press, May 8 1990.

Why? continues to tour throughout Spring and Summer in the UK.

Chances are… tour continues into spring of this year. In March, Revenge, which was presented by the Riversiders in association with Graeae and Greenwich Youth Aid, is presented at Greenwich Young People’s Theatre.

September 1990- April 1991:

• Chances are…, T.I.E. production goes on tour, one of the performances was at Gingerbread’s Disability Awareness Day in March.

  In Graeae’s words: “Susie is eighteen, popular, likes chocolate, is disabled, lives at home with her mother………and finds out she’s pregnant.

  Chances Are…follows Susie through her choices and decisions, and in doing so raises questions about the way society regards motherhood, about hereditary disabilities, family pressure and the choices surrounding all of us, disabled and non-disabled concerning pregnancy.”

  In reviewer’s words: “‘Chances Are’ brought various issues to do with disability clearly into focus and was all the more relevant to Gingerbread because the play also examined the choices faced by young, single mother-to-be and the difficult decisions she had to make.” -Unknown Reviewer, April/May 1991.

21st – 22nd March:

• Revenge presented by the Riversiders in association with Graeae and Greenwich Youth Aid is presented at Greenwich Young People’s Theatre.

Graeae presents their 10^th anniversary national tour production of Hound, written by Maria Oshodi.

Following the success of the previous year, Revenge Two is created by The Riversiders, a group of young disabled people between the ages of 14 and 25 years old.

At the end of the year Graeae stages a production of Firdaus Kanga’s A Kind of Immigrant, through a national tour.

April De Angelis adapts Albie Sachs’ the soft vengeance of a freedom fighter for Graeae. The production of Soft Vengeance was directed by and starred Ewan Marshall and went on to tour internationally.

The Jungle, adapted and directed by Fiona Branson, was also presented this year to celebrate European Day of Disabled People. This production was created through Graeae’s Borderlines Project which presented performances with disabled people of all ages and experiences.

September- December:

• Soft Vengeance, adapted by April De Angelis from the book, the soft vengeance of a freedom fighter by Albie Sachs, premieres in London. The production was directed by and starred Ewan Marshall, then went on a national and international tour.

  Graeae’s words: “soft vengeance, adapted for the stage by critically acclaimed playwright April De Angelis (from Sachs’ book The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter), is a gripping and vital account of his personal and political struggle and his attempts to rebuild his life. As Sachs heals physically, he struggles mentally to adjust to his injuries and disabilities and renews his political battle. And it is a declaration of faith in the power of the spirit when, seven months after the bomb goes off, he reaches the beach and runs again.”

November- December:

• The Jungle was presented to celebrate European Day of Disabled People by Graeae’s Borderlines Project which presents performances with disabled people of all ages and all levels of experiences. The production was adapted and directed by Fiona Branson from Upton Sinclair’s novel of the same name.

  Graeae’s Words: “Lithuanian emigrants arrive in the America of the early 20th century in anticipation of the promise of new lives. Instead, they are confronted with the degradation and savagery of the stockyards and slaughter. houses of Chicago and struggle to retain their dignity and enthusiasm for life. To celebrate European Day of Disabled People, Graeae Theatre Company’s innovative new Borderlines Project presents disabled people of all ages and experience in this provocative theatrical impression of Upton Sinclair’s classic novel ‘The Jungle’.”

  Reviewer’s words: “…the piece, directed by Ewan Marshall, remains alive, largely through the boldness with which it tackles and intertwines its explosive themes, not simply disability, but racism, sexism and the media exploitation which accompany it.” -Rosalind Carne for The Guardian, Feb 19, 1992.

Starring Graeae co-founder Nabil Shaban, Flesh fly, a new adaptation of Ben Johnson’s Volpone launches a national tour at the beginning of 1996.

Sympathy for the Devil, a co-production with Basic Theatre Company, embarked on a nation tour. The play was written by Roy Winston and directed by Ray Harrison Graham, previously seen in Graeae’s production of Soft Vengeance. 

January- March:

• National tour of Flesh fly, a new adaptation of Ben Johnson’s Volpone, starring Nabil Shaban launches.Graeae’s words: “Morally destitute and proud of it, Volpone conspires with his servant Mosca – and his insatiably weird retinue of bastard offspring – to prove that he is not the only one who will stop at nothing. Masquerading as terminally ill, he diverts the great and the good, the innocent and the cunning to his bedside. All hope to be his heir, but as they charge towards Volpone’s death, his undeniable good health and the guile of his slave confounds them all … Not least Volpone himself. Mosca is a parasite. He is the flesh fly that feeds on the work of others. And wherever he finds intrigue, he will find his meat.”Reviewer’s words: “Ewan Marshall’s production has all the bizarre, anarchic anger of a Quentin Tarantino reading of Punch and Judy” – The Guardian

Summer:

• Sympathy for the Devil, a co-production with Basic Theatre Company, embarked on a nation tour. The play was written by Roy Winston and directed by Ray Harrison Graham, previously seen in Graeae’s production of Soft Vengeance.

  Graeae’s Words: “Once in church when I was a boy, I asked an elderly relative why I had a disability. Taking my hand he replied “God loves all his children but sometimes the Devil tries to hurt them”. He then gave me a sympathetic smile and patted me on the head … it was that simple.”

What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton toured nationally from Spring to Summer of 1997. The production was Ewan Marshall’s last as artistic director of Graeae.

April- June:

• What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton was Ewan Marshall’s last production as artistic director and went on a national tour.

  Graeae’s words: “Lecherous psychiatrist Dr Prentice is attempting to seduce a prospective secretary. But his wife promises the position to her own seducer, a blackmailing pageboy from the Station Hotel. His lust thwarted, Prentice must explain away a naked shorthand typist to the formidable Rance – commissioner for asylums, with power to hold ‘sway over a rabbit hutch if the inmates were mentally disturbed’. But, as cross-dressing leads to increasingly crossed wires. the police search for the missing parts of Winston Churchill, and Rance aims for a hat trick of strait-jacketed maniacs within the hour, who can say what madness really is?”

Directed by Jenny Sealey, A Lovely Sunday for Creve Soeur by Tennessee Williams tours England.

A co-production with Fittings Multi-media arts, Fittings: The Last Freak Show premiered in May of 1999. The production turned audience’s understanding of freak shows on their head and caused political outcry at one of their tour stops.

February- April:

• A Lovely Sunday for Creve Soeur by Tennessee Williams and directed by Jenny Sealey goes on a tour of England.

  Graeae’s words: “It’s a hot sticky Sunday in St Louis and Dorothea is expecting a call from the most eligible bachelor in town. Bodey is scheming to fix her up with her twin brother and Helena is trying to whisk her away to a better life. Meanwhile, Miss Gluck is causing chaos in the bathroom. The relationships of these four thirty-something women, their loneliness and their aspirations are beautifully explored in Tennessee Williams’ rarely performed bittersweet comedy.”

May- July:

• Fittings: The Last Freak Show: Co-production with fittings multi-media arts that went out on a national tour and had some involvement at Glastonbury Festival.

  Graeae’s words: “In this tent I promise wonders and marvels! A highly unusual attraction of monsters and freaks – creatures who live outside the limits of your imagination. Ringmaster Rusty Gusty runs the last freak show on the planet – a troupe of fantastical and bizarre creatures who are on their way to Greenwich to cash in on the Millennium celebrations. Each has an incredible story to tell as we are allowed into their strange, but surprisingly familiar, world. A cunning mixture of performance and exhibition, FITTINGS explores people as objects and what it is to be human – whether as an abhorrent misfit or a perfect angel.”

Peter Wolf’s Into the Mystic, directed by Jenny Sealey has a run at Riverside Studios before beginning a UK tour.

The Missing Piece 2 cohort presents Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding which toured throughout England. This cohort also presented an additional showcase of monologues and scenes in March.

Towards the end of 2001, The Changeling by Middleton & Rowley, and adapted for Graeae by Clare McIntyre premiered. The production was set against the background of the late 1960s, and it toured throughout England.

January- April:

• Into the Mystic by Peter Wolf and directed by Jenny Sealey ran at Riverside Studios before beginning a UK tour.

  Graeae’s words: “Set in an urban netherworld, Into the Mystic pitches the cold logic of medical science against the mystery of being human, asking new questions about our identity in a world of junk food and genetic engineering.”

  Reviewer’s words: “ ‘Into the Mystic’ is brave, engrossing and challenging: an unflinching account of damage and self-cleansing through blood and spirituality.” -Alex Williams for dail Magazine, Jan/Feb 2001, Issue 159, pg. 22.

February- March:

• Presented by The Missing Piece 2, Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding toured throughout England.

  Graeae’s words: “Blood Wedding is a story of passion, jealousy, betrayal and revenge where death stalks the guilty lovers in their flight and even the moon is like a knife in the sky thirsty for their blood.”

  Additional showcase in March by Missing Piece 2 participants.

October- December:

• The Changeling by Middleton & Rowley and adapted for Graeae by Clare McIntyre was set against the background of the late 60s, the production toured throughout England.Graeae’s words: “Graeae’s highly stylised and passionate production sets The Changeling against a backdrop of the late 60’s, mirroring the turmoil of the outside world with the emotional and brutal changes Beatrice invites and endures.”

Wild Lunch VI was Paines Plough and Graeae’s first collaboration which resulted in professional lunchtime readings of new work at the Young Vic. 

peeling by Kaite O’Reilly and directed by Jenny Sealey had its world premiere at Soho Theatre. The production would go on to be revived the following year due to its immense success.

Traverse Theatre, Paines Plough, and Graeae also went on to produce a co-production of The Drowned World in August of 2002.

Named Time Out’s Best Children’s Show of 2003, Diary of an Action Man, was a collaboration with Graeae and Unicorn Children’s Theatre that toured throughout London and was revived in 2005.

Graeae was also involved in a production of The Vagina Monologues for VDAY, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

peeling is revived and goes on a national tour for three months.

Missing Piece 3 cohort presented Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. The production starred Liz Carr as Mother Courage and toured throughout London. Missing Piece 3 also marked the inclusion of London Metropolitan University in the programme.

Finally, The Trouble with Richard, a T.I.E. Forum Theatre Schools’ production for key stage 4 students (11-14 years) toured.

On Blindness by Glyn Cannon was a co-production between Graeae, Franticassembly, and Paines Plough and toured throughout England. 

Missing Piece 4 combined audio description, sign language, live music, and physicality to create a compelling new approach to Martin Sherman’s shattering play, Bent. The production went on a national tour.

In 2004, Graeae presented On Blindness by Glyn Cannon and Martin Sherman’s Bent.

February- March:

• On Blindness by Glyn Cannon was a co-production between Graeae, Franticassembly, and Paines Plough and toured throughout England.

  Graeae’s words: “On Blindness is witty, brutally honest and pushes our theatrical preconceptions to the limit. It marks a thrilling alliance between three of the country’s most celebrated companies. Following their triumphant collaboration on Tiny Dynamite, Frantic Assembly and Paines Plough join forces with Graeae. Each company has a reputation for breaking boundaries with the highest quality cutting edge theatre.”

October- November:

• Presented by the Missing Piece 4 cast, Martin Sherman’s Bent combined audio description, sign language, live music, and physicality to create a compelling new approach to the shattering play.

  Graeae’s words: “Germany in 1934, and amid awakening fascist terror and the persecution of homosexuals, a surprising love story unfolds in Martin Sherman’s masterpiece, bent. From the seamy world of Berlin’s underground nightclubs to the stark horror of Dachau. Bent is a harrowing account of love, hate and prejudice, powerfully capturing an unforgettable chapter in recent history.”

  Reviewer’s words: ‘A play of importance, power and pathos which should concern us all’ – The Guardian

Graeae presented an innovated version of Sarah Kane’s devise play, Blasted. This is achieved through accessible design techniques and integration of spoken stage direction. The production when on a national tour.

Missing Piece Project 5 members presented Fuddy Meers, by David Lindsay-Abaire. The production went on to tour England.

Graeae premiered their first production of Sarah Kane’s Blasted and Missing Piece Project 5 presented, Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire.

March- May:

• Graeae innovated Sarah Kane’s divisive play Blasted through accessible design and integration of spoken stage direction. The production had a multi-week run at Soho theatre in London before embarking on a national tour.

  “Graeae has pioneered the use of stage direction spoken live onstage as a way for blind and visually impaired audiences to access the play; in Blasted, Kane got there first. In the play, in addition to the dialogue, she has written character actions to function as lines. This connects with Graeae’s commitment to accessible theatre; it feels like a gift.” -Jenny Sealey

  Graeae’s Words: “The award winning Graeae Theatre Company will be your guide through Kane’s dark landscapes – from a gleaming hotel room, where two ex-lovers meet, through threats and spite to personal brutality and further, as violence seems to spread like a virus until our world seems engulfed and all is damaged.”

  Reviewer’s words: “Brave, strong and uncompromising performances, touched with a terrible wounded aggression; the power of the experience is undeniable.” The Scotsman, National Tour 2006.

June:

• Fuddy Meers, presented by members of Missing Piece Project 5 in London.Graeae’s words: “Claire, a woman who suffers from a strange form of amnesia wakes up every morning with no memory. She is eager to unearth who she really is. On this particular morning, she is in for the most jam-packed day of discovery imaginable. Meeting a series of bizarre characters along the way, as the day unfolds Claire’s secret past becomes the arena of this absurd and poignant dark comedy. Fuddy Meers premiered in 1999 in New York and had its premiere in the UK in April 2004 at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Conceived as a carney side-show, memory is restored through a cavalcade of carnivalesque images.”

Mike Kenny’s adaptation of Snow White, Whiter Than Snow, turned the fairytale on its head and then went on a national tour.

Based on the lives of the girls in John Groom’s Crippleage in Clerkenwell in the early 1900s, Flower Girls, directed by Jenny Sealey resulted in a tour and a book publication.

March:

• Whiter Than Snow by Mike Kenny turned the Snow White story on its head and then went on a national tour.

  Graeae’s Words: “Meet Frieda and the Frantz family, the world-famous travelling performers of the best Snow White story you’ll ever see. But there’s a problem, Snow White has done a bunk with the Prince!”

  Reviewer’s words: “Given a wartime setting that puts you in mind of Nazi experiments in concentration camps, the play explores the uses and abuses. Of science and is given all the more resonance as it is performed by an integrated cast of able-bodied and disabled actors. Graeae is hot from its success with a revival of Sarah Kane’s Blasted and this project is another example of a company that is grappling with complex issues within a theatre setting.” -Lyn Gardner, The Guide, March 24-30, 2007.

October:

• Based on the lives of the girls in John Groom’s Crippleage in Clerkenwell in the early 1900s, Flower Girls, directed by Jenny Sealey resulted in a tour and a book publication.Graeae’s Words: “Flower Girls is the funny, beautifully observed and uplifting story of a group of disabled women who live and work at The Crippleage Edgware. Inspired by the personal testimony and reminiscences of real-life Flower Girls, the play shifts effortlessly between the unsettled early years of World War II and the seemingly more liberated world of 1965. Their stories reveal an indomitable spirit and a fierce determination to hind their place in the world, a world that prefers to keep them at a safe distance.”

Signs of a Star Shaped Diva, presented by Graeae in association with Theatre Royal Stratford East was a camp deaf cabaret that went on to a tour of the UK.

Graeae had their second co-production with Strange Fruit when The Garden premiered at The Greenwich Docklands International Festival.

Graeae’s triumphant success, Reasons to be Cheerful, featuring the music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, premieres and goes on a tour of the UK. The production was eventually nominated for Best Touring Production and the Renee Shepham Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre at the TMA Theatre UK Awards.

The Rhinestone Rollers, Graeae’s wheelchair dancing troupe also debuted this year.

The Rhinestone Rollers presented their second show, Wheels on Broadway.

Graeae premieres their take on Ted Hughes’ classic, The Iron Man, adapted by Paul Sirett at The Norfolk & Norwich Festival before embarking on their initial tour of England. The Iron Man was constructed as a giant iron puppet which was brought to life by multiple puppeteers.

Write to Play, a programme which nurtures five new writers each year is launched. The programme is still running successfully, having taken a short pause during the pandemic.

Following its successful run in 2011, The Iron Man is revived and taken on a schools and libraries tour over the summer.

In association with Strange Fruit and commissioned by Greenwich Docklands International Festival, Graeae presented The Limbless Knight.

Graeae’s Youth Programme, inspired by Rhinestone Rollers created and presented, Deck the Stalls, a celebration for the festive season.

Summer:

• Following its successful run in 2011, The Iron Man is revived and taken on a schools and libraries tour over the summer.

• In association with Strange Fruit and commissioned by Greenwich Docklands International Festival, Graeae presented The Limbless Knight.

  Graeae’s Words: “Films are in black and white or colour. This film is in grey. These are the grey stories that need to be told. In this interactive outdoor production, you are invited to play extras on a set where tensions are high as our human rights are on the verge of being rewritten.”

Winter:

• Graeae’s Youth Programme, inspired by Graeae’s Rhinestone Rollers created and presented Deck the Stalls, a celebration for the festive season.

Stepping Stones, a schools tour as a part of ensemble training is launched.

In collaboration with Central Illustration Agency, Graeae launched Reframing the Myth, an exhibition at the Guardian’s exhibition space. The exhibition featured artistic interpretations of various artists and members of the Graeae collective from the company’s 35-year history. This exhibition resulted in a publication and featured a piece from Graeae’s patron Sir Peter Blake.

Graeae’s co-production Dhaka Theatre, A Different Romeo and Juliet performed in Bangladesh as Part of Shakespeare Lives which was sponsored and organized by the British Council.

A revived version of Graeae’s collaboration with Strange Fruit, The Garden performed in Brazil as a part of Rio’s 2016 Paralympic Games.

Graeae’s Youth Programme, ages 5-12, present Deck the Stalls at the Southbank Centre.

February:

• In collaboration with Central Illustration Agency, Graeae launched Reframing the Myth, an exhibition at the Guardian’s exhibition space. The exhibition featured artistic interpretations of various artists and members of the Graeae collective from the company’s 35-year history. This exhibition resulted in a publication and featured a piece from Graeae’s patron Sir Peter Blake.

March:

• Graeae’s co-production Dhaka Theatre,
  A Different Romeo and Juliet is performed in Bangladesh as part of Shakespeare Lives which was sponsored and organized by the British Council.

August:

• A revived version of Graeae’s collaboration with Strange Fruit, The Garden performed in Brazil as a part of Rio’s 2016 Paralympic Games.

  Graeae’s Words: “A gathering of gardeners and guardians take you through the memory of England’s “green and pleasant land” in a deconsecrated churchyard in the heart of Greenwich. While seedlings are tended, angels look down from the top of 4 metre sway poles, and an emotional story of love, loss and hope unfolds.”

December:

• Graeae’s Youth Programme, ages 5-12, present Deck the Stalls at the Southbank Centre.

The first major co-production between the Royal Exchange Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company, The House of Bernarda Alba, presented an all-female cast in a fully accessible production of Lorca’s final play. Trailer linked below.

Reasons to be Cheerful returned in a new production with strategic touring funding from Arts Council England.

Cosmic Scallies by Jackie Hagan was A Royal Exchange Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company co-production that premiered in 2017 at Edinburgh Fringe.

Winter:

• The first major co-production between the Royal Exchange Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company, The House of Bernarda Alba, presented an all-female cast in a fully accessible production of Lorca’s final play.Graeae’s words: “Bernarda’s husband is dead. Now she alone rules her household and the lives of her five daughters. A period of eight years’ mourning will be observed without contact with the outside world and the men who might bring them ruin. That is except for Angustias, whose inheritance has attracted a wealthy local suitor. As the wedding approaches, Bernarda struggles to retain her suffocating grip on the family and on these women whose appetite for defiance is growing.”Reviewer’s words: “I found that the signing and the captions enhanced the play, making it easier to follow…. Jenny Sealey directs with dexterity, interweaving all the demands of this production into something special.” – Ann Treneman, The Times, 9th February 2017.

Summer:

• Graeae presents Cosmic Scallies by Jackie Hagan and directed by Amit Sharma. This was another Royal Exchange Theatre co-production, the show would tour with a stint at Edinburgh Fringe.Graeae’s words: “Shaun and Dent grew up best friends on a council estate in Skelmersdale – a new town built on a utopian dream but now an abandoned reality. Dent tried to leave Skem, full of ambition, but ten years later she’s back. All she wants to do now is hide away and watch daytime TV – but then Shaun arrives…”

Autumn:

• Reasons to be Cheerful returned in a new production with strategic touring funding from Arts Council England. The cast included a combination of original cast members and new actors and musicians. An additional protest song that was created for the show by Blockheads, Chaz Jankel and Derek Hussey with John Kelly entitled If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong.

December- January 2018:

• Graeae presents Midwich Cuckoos for BBC Radio 4, a new dramatisation of John Wynham’s 1950s sci fi classic.

Written by Paul Siret, Bartholomew Abominations, was another Naked Production and Graeae collaboration for BBC Radio 4, retelling Ben Johnson’s Bartholomew Fair in an entirely new way. Listen to the production via the link below. Click here to read the script.

Commissioned by BBC Radio 4 and Audio Content Fund, Night of the Living Flatpacks, was a new series developed by Naked Productions and Graeae with the support of dramatist Sarah Daniels.

Graeae and Tamasha presented a co-production in association with Bush Theatre, 10 Nights by Shahid Iqbal Khan, tells the story of Yasser taking part in I‘tikāf, sleeping, and fasting the mosque for the last ten nights of Ramadan. The production also included an optional audience workshop with Graeae, An Introduction to Writing, inspired by it.

October-November:

• Graeae and Tamasha co-production in association with Bush Theatre, 10 Nights by Shahid Iqbal Khan, tells the story of Yasser taking part in I‘tikāf, sleeping, and fasting the mosque for the last ten nights of Ramadan. The production also included an optional audience workshop with Graeae, An Introduction to Writing, inspired by it.Graeae’s words: “When Yasser decides to take part in I‘tikāf, sleeping and fasting in the mosque for the last ten nights of Ramadan, he soon regrets his decision. But as he navigates smug worshippers, shared bathrooms, and recurring thoughts of chunky chips, Yasser’s isolation forces him to confront a side of himself he’s been trying to keep hidden. A moving and funny new play by Shahid Iqbal Khan and directed by Kash Arshad, 10 Nights is the story of one man’s journey of self-discovery, and facing the consequences of your actions.”The production originally ran from 14 October – 13 November at the Bush Theatre, London. You can check out the trailer for the production below.

November:

• Night of the Living Flatpacks,  a series of five 15 minute episodes premieres. It is A Naked Production and Graeae collaboration that tells the story of three people who get locked in at a Sharewoods home furnishing store. It was broadcast on over 20 UK community radio stations, it was funded through the Audio Content Fund.

A Graeae and Belgrade Theatre co-production for Coventry City of Culture, Kerbs by Michael Southan, tells the truth about romance, sex, and disability. The production opened Coventry 2021 City of Culture celebrations before a national tour.

Commissioned by the Stables for IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, The Paradis Files was a Graeae production in partnership with BBC Concert Orchestra and Curve Theatre. The story of Maria-Theresia von Paradis was a chamber opera that brought an extraordinary, blind historical figure allowing her to reclaim her spot in musical history. The touring production won an award for Excellence in Touring at the UK Theatre Awards. There is a link to a short documentary about the making of the production below.

Returning to the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival, Graeae presented This Woven O. This Woven O, created and devised by Graeae’s Associate Artists, was presented within Oliver Macdonald’s sculptural artwork.

February- April:

• A Graeae and Belgrade Theatre co-production for Coventry City of Culture, Kerbs by Michael Southan, tells the truth about romance, sex, and disability. The production opened Coventry 2021 City of Culture celebrations before a national tour.

Self-Raising premiered at Edinburgh Fringe. A Graeae production in association with the Soho Theatre and Theatr Lolo, Self-Raising was developed with The Incubator at The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath. Self-Raising is Jenny Sealey’s own story. Her story of growing up Deaf in a family with a secret.

A new hip hop gig theatre show, High Times and Dirty Monsters raises the voices of young disabled people. The production incorporated actors, beatboxers, dancers and stunning visuals.