The National Theatre of Scotland is bringing an eclectic programme of accessible theatre to the Edinburgh Festivals this summer, with two exciting new co-productions My Left Right Foot – The Musical and First Snow/Première Neige.
My Left Right Foot – The Musical sees the National Theatre of Scotland teaming up for the first time with Birds of Paradise Theatre, Scotland’s leading disability-led performance company to co-present this side-splitting musical. Following a local amateur dramatic group who, faced with the threat of funding cuts if they don’t comply with the equalities agenda, come up with a cunning plan: they will create a dazzling show starring ‘the disabled’. Taking their cues from My Left Foot, the bestselling memoir of a life with Cerebral palsy by Irish author, Christy Brown, later turned into an Oscar-winning film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, the amdram group set out to create their own production. The only snag is they’re having real trouble finding any disabled actors. Throw in a few love triangles and completely throw out political correctness, all the drama happens behind the curtains as production quickly descends into hilarious farce.
With live music and original songs, My Left Right Foot – The Musical is a funny and riotous musical satire taking aim at the representation of disabled performers on stage and screen.
Inclusive
Running at the Assembly Roxy from 1 – 27 August each performance offers integrated BSL signing, audio description, captioning and a loop system with a relaxed performance on 19 August. The show features strong language (and strong humour!) so we recommend it’s suitable for those aged 16 and up.
Meanwhile over at the Canada Hub at the King’s Hall, the National Theatre of Scotland in partnership with Théâtre PÀP and Hôtel-Motel present First Snow/Première Neige. The production follows Isabelle, who summons her family back to their ancestral home in Quebec to discuss what to do with their mother, the house and the land. Unfortunately, they can’t stop arguing about the past and have very different visions of the future. But who does the future really belong to?
First Snow/Première Neige is an exciting world premiere written and performed by artists from Scotland and Quebec – two nations with big hearts and even bigger ambitions. Both Québec and Scotland have experienced independence/sovereignty movements and this international coproduction, brings together three companies to create timely theatre about nations wrestling with history, culture and politics.
Running from 1 – 26 August in the Canada Hub at King’s Hall in association with Summerhall, there will be BSL signed performances on 3, 7, 16 and 23 August with a captioned performance on 19 August.
Accessible tickets for both these innovative co-productions can be purchased at: www.nationaltheatreofscotland.com, via the venue websites or at the Fringe Box Office.