Wiltshire Creative hopes to improve accessibility and inclusion with new partnership

The Salisbury-based company are making organisation wide changes

Author: Sophie CridlandPublished 26th Oct 2021

A new collaboration with Wiltshire creative and disabled theatre network’ Ramps on the Moon’ hopes to improve accessibility and inclusion across its three organisations.

The partnership will act as an agent of change across the companies: Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury International Arts.

It will allow Wiltshire Creative to make organisation changes and amplify the voices of disabled and deaf people in the mainstream theatre.

An agent for change will be recruited as part of the new role, which will help Wiltshire Creative achieve the following:

  • Embedding deaf, disabled and learning-disabled people throughout their organisation
  • Putting access and inclusion at the heart of the organisation
  • Creating long term employment and training opportunities for D/deaf and disabled people
  • Ensuring opportunities for deaf, disabled and learning-disabled theatre makers
  • Wiltshire Creative is joining the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme as the second partner of Ramps on the Moon.
  • It's funded by Arts Council England that is working to improve the disabled representation in mid-scale theatre.

Sebastian Warrack, Executive Director of Wiltshire Creative said, “At Wiltshire Creative, we are delighted to be joining Ramps on the Moon as an Associate Company. We are honoured to have the opportunity to put into action the extensive research and learnings Ramps on the Moon has developed over the years. As well as hiring an Agent for Change, we are committed to improving access and normalising the presence of disabled people in all future activities across Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury International Arts Festival, with a particular focus on diversifying audiences, making spaces more accessible, catering more coherently to access needs of casts, companies and staff members, and making our spaces more welcoming and accessible to all.”

Ramps on the Moon’s Director for Change Michèle Taylor said of the announcement, “We are delighted that Wiltshire Creative has come on board as an Associate partner of Ramps on the Moon. The leadership has the whole organisation behind them in working alongside us to elevate and amplify the voices of disabled and deaf people in mainstream theatre. We are excited to see Wiltshire Creative recruit an Agent for Change and take their already great work around disability to a new level.”

About Ramps on the Moon

Ramps on the Moon’s upcoming projects include award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, which is produced by Leeds Playhouse in association with Ramps on the Moon.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Greatest Hits Radio app.