Everyone told me not to do this production. Theatre producers told me that no one would come and that I should stick to “popular titles”, whilst friends advised me that it was unadaptable. I have never been so happy to ignore all advice and stick to my instincts.
I created the show in 2019 in Sweden, and later that year we performed it on tour in Europe in Polish and Romanian. The show has a range of sensory games and musical content that reflects the knowledge and experience of autism I have accumulated over the last two decades. There are games of sadness and grief in contrast to tangos and songs of fishermen.
Toward the end of the show, whilst in the throes of the play’s blissful reunion, we sing each of the autistic participants’ names in celebration of their lives. The production paired with our mainstage Pericles, and the same company of actors performed them both together on the same day at the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival, May 2022.
We then drove from Craiova, crossing the Danube to Sofia, Bulgaria, to perform our Pericles with Ukrainian refugees in response to the war. We have been returning to these families ever since. These performances led to our Double Pericles tour in 2023, which took us across the UK, Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia, playing international Shakespeare festivals, tiny refugee centres, and special schools in Tower Hamlets. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust opened Hall’s Croft for us, and we performed for the refugee families of Stratford-upon-Avon.
So many people told me not to make a production of Pericles because no one would want to see it. The music of the spheres told me otherwise. So many theatres turned us down even when we had funding to tour, saying they would rather keep their theatres dark. But me, Joshua Welch, and Natasha Haward booked a tour anyway — and it’s been unforgettable.
Pericles for Autistic people gallery
11 photos
Previous Performances
Riksteatern, Sweden 2019
Strathmore School, Richmond UK, October 2019
Galeria Katowice, Katowice Poland, October 2019
Centrum Kultury, Lublin Poland with Fundacja Alpha, October 2019
Teatrul Gong, Festival Tanar de Sibiu, Romania, November 2019
Bush Theatre Attic space, London, January 2020
I adapted the production to be accessible online during the COVID-19 Pandemic 2020-2021
Riverside Studios, London UK, Oct 2021 – October 2023
Wolfson Theatre, St. John’s College, Brighton UK, November 2021
Craiova International Shakespeare Festival May 2022
Situational Centre for Ukraine . Sofia Bulgaria May 2022-April 2023
The Old Market Brighton October 2022
Mercury theatre Colchester March 2023
Virginia Primary School Tower Hamlets London March -June 2023
Notre Dame Refugee Centre London March 2023
Beehive Theatre Honiton UK April 2023
Sheffield University Drama Studio UK April 2023
The Brunswick Brighton May 2023
Caravanserai Brighton Fringe Festival May 2023
St Annes and Guardian School Tower Hamlets London June 2023
Hall Croft Stratford upon Avon June 2023
Old Fire Station Oxford June 2023
Itaka Shakespeare Festival, Serbia National Theatre Serbia. July 2023
Phamaly Theatre, Denver Colorado May 2025
International Shakespeare Festival Riverside Studios 2024