On Monday the 23rd of March 2026 the second Alternative Accessibility Training session was held at Derby Theatre. I was pleased that the session was at my home theatre in Derby. I was able to do my morning routine as usual and work until lunchtime at 12:00 PM.
I was very tired because I had been in rehearsal the day before for a production of Alice in Wonderland being held at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton in summer 2026. The production company is Your Chance Productions, and they support individuals to gain their chance in the spotlight no matter what conditions or disabilities they may have. I am playing the Cheshire Cat and for this role I had to help set the stage for the Mad Hatter’s tea party and I had to learn two new dances. This meant that my body was aching and I felt exhausted. I had minus spoons so I got a taxi to Derby Theatre to preserve my energy.
When I arrived my creative enabler, Liz Leck was already there and she had been exploring Derby city centre and Derbion Shopping Centre. Liz had never been to Derby Theatre before, and she found the venue very friendly and welcoming. She had so much fun that she even opened the automatic doors by running at them with aeroplane arms, and nobody seemed to mind.
Our photographer and Social Media Manager Lily arrived at 10:20 and she set up our workspace. We were told that we were in the Alan Bates meeting room and Liz asked me what Alan Bates’s connection was with Derby. I did not know the answer, but this made me want to research and find out. It turned out that we were actually in the community hub space and Lily very kindly set up in the new space.
It was incredibly quiet at Derby theatre compared to usual. There were no school children, and some staff had come in especially for the training. I am always very nervous about delivering training but with Liz and Lily supporting me I felt calm by lunch time.
I found it challenging because the learners were very engaged and wanted to have their own discussions on the topic at hand. This was great but because I had a lot of information to deliver, I found it hard to balance allowing them time for discussion and ensuring that all the information was received.
The session was about communication and language used when recruiting neurodivergent and disabled individuals. The session made me reflect on how far I have come in my learning journey because the learners wanted to have their own organic discussions and by doing so this made me forget the order I was going to deliver the session in. This meant that we had introductions after talking about what conditions come under the neurodivergent umbrella. A few years ago, I would have been ashamed and embarrassed that I did not do the introductions first. In this environment this did not seem to matter, and we carried on the training regardless of the error. In other environments such as the NHS this mistake would have been noted and picked up on for a later feedback meeting.
The staff at Derby Theatre were very engaged in the learning and welcomed suggestions on how to improve their recruitment processes. We discussed accidental ableism and we talked about what one person might find easy another might find extremely difficult. We discussed whether it was appropriate to have a glossary of terms in a recruitment pack to answer the belief that the individual who was going for the job would know what the terms meant. Many acronyms mean several different things across different professions and so a glossary of terms enables fairness and equity. We discussed using clear language in job descriptions and describing the exact skills needed which would encourage more disabled individuals to apply.
The front of house manager was incredibly friendly and kind to us and Derby theatre provided lunch for our training team. She even gave Liz a tour of the main auditorium once the training had ended, which made her very happy. At the end of the training, we took a group photo by the Derby Theatre 50 years celebration board and the staff discussed what they wanted session three to look like. I left Derby Theatre feeling very positive, heard, understood and validated. I also felt that positive change was being made regarding accessibility and that Derby Theatre truly embodies their position as a learning theatre. They are willing to learn from all members of the community which I feel is very empowering. We are looking forward to coming back for session 3 on April 15th.
As always, I would like to thank Sarah Brigham, Andrew Tinley, Sam Rushton and Stuart Allen for helping us to make this training happen. I would also like to thank Liz and Lily for their continued support and hard work throughout this project. Finally, I would like to thank Open Theatre Company for their role in my professional development, and I would like to thank Arts Council England for funding this training to improve access and opportunities for Neurodivergent individuals across the theatre arts sector.