Enabling Disabled leaders to step into leadership roles.
Written by Madeleine C Levy – Alternative Voices Theatre Company director and access and inclusion expert.
The creative sector thrives on fresh ideas, unexpected collaborations, and the fearless breaking of barriers. Yet, there’s one barrier that persists across our stages, studios, galleries, and rehearsal rooms: access.
On Monday, 16 June 2025, the Opening Up Access symposium invited creatives from across the West Midlands (and beyond) to come together online for a day of provocation, inspiration, and radical listening. In partnership with Open Theatre, this event challenged and inspired all of us.
Centring Lived Experience
This was not just another webinar — it was a space to truly hear from and listen to artists and leaders with lived experience of disability and exclusion. From 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., audiences engaged with Culture Central in dynamic studio conversations, bold keynote provocations, and collective reflections that left us all questioning, dreaming, and planning new ways of working.
A Vibrant Line-Up
Co-hosts Richard Hayhow (Open Theatre) and Robin Jax (Attitude is Everything) guided us through the day. Highlights included:
- A keynote by Dr Selina Thompson (Artistic Director & CEO, Selina Thompson Ltd), exploring how accessible practice transforms leadership and creative process.
She brought Disability Justice, now forever known as DJ, to the party, exploring what it looks like when access and inclusion are done correctly and describing perfectly the “messy” experience.
- A panel conversation with Dr Selina Thompson, Madeleine Levy (yours truly) (British theatre actor, writer, and passionate inclusion advocate), and Rachel Sharpe (Royal Shakespeare Company), chaired by Richard Hayhow, imagining accessible leadership from the ground up and what this would look like if it was done right from the very beginning of the design of a project. Derek, the fidget spinner may have also made a special appearance. I was very nervous; I had NEVER done a YouTube live stream before.
- Insightful provocations from Dr Joanna Grace, a sensory engagement and inclusion specialist, and a presentation of headline research themes from Dr Lucy Lopez’s Charter for Equity.
Plus, the morning audience of 200 online viewers enjoyed visual notetaking by Millie Yarwood, which was an artful, emotive, and insightful way to capture and reflect on the day’s conversations.
The day began with someone telling us we were live in five minutes, which was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. We were then treated to one of Open Theatre’s infamous warmups from their nonverbal physical theatre practice. It was important to remember that whilst this event was a triumph in terms of pushing forward access and inclusion, there were still several individuals who, due to their disabilities and conditions, could not have engaged with the event or been present at all. These are the 10% we are fighting for, along with the rights and justice for all disabled individuals throughout the country and beyond.
Introducing the Opening Up Access Resource
A key moment in the symposium was the launch of the Opening Up Access Resource Pack — a practical tool designed to help organisations embed access deeply and sustainably into their operations. This legacy resource from the Culture Volunteer Programme is a must-have for any creative leader or organisation striving for real inclusion and belonging. Grace O Malley (Access advocate and creative enabler) and Liz Leck (Access consultant with over 30 years’ experience) proudly unveiled the Opening Up Access Resource Pack which saw a lot of hard work to create and collate research and support strategies. It is our steadfast determination and joyful will that this will be used across the UK and beyond to support embed access and inclusion into your theatre projects and spaces.
Reflect, Share, and Connect
The morning broadcast ran from 10:00am to 1:00pm and viewers joined us live on You Tube. Then, after a break, we reconvened at 2:30pm for an open Zoom share space hosted by Dr Selina Thompson Ltd and Live to Your Living Room. This was a chance to process, reflect, and exchange ideas with fellow creatives and cultural workers in an informal, supportive environment. We discussed our current experiences with access and inclusion and any challenges that we faced along the way. Also, what might we do to eliminate these challenges in the future? It felt as if we made several new friends that day and came together for a cause that truly mattered and was dear to the hearts of all involved in the event.
Why Radical Listening Matters
This symposium was the first event launching Radical Listening Week 2025: Towards a Charter for Equity, a week-long programme that urged us to truly hear and act upon the needs of those too often excluded from creative decision-making. Radical listening isn’t passive; it’s a call to shift power, centre lived experience, and create a cultural sector that reflects and serves all of us.
Whether you’re a theatre-maker, producer, visual artist, musician, or cultural organiser, this is an invitation to step into a more inclusive, imaginative future.
Join Us
When: Monday 16 June 2025, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Where: Online — accessible from wherever you create!
If you missed it, Watch live: https://youtu.be/gjV5zYjxZOE?si=m1Hd0Lx-QtSqm0aA
Together, let’s open up access and unlock the full potential of our creative communities.