How do you tackle loneliness and isolation among people who are blind and vision impaired? For Extant, the UK's leading professional performing arts company of visually impaired artists and theatre practitioners, the answer is 'improvise'.
Having proven the impact of its No Dramas acting classes, Extant is taking the programme national. Funding from Fight for Sight in 2021 helped Extant to run the programme and to pivot online during the pandemic.
Tackling loneliness across the country
The number of Extant attendees went up during lockdown, which was crucial in tackling the loneliness and isolation that many blind and vision impaired people experienced more keenly at this time. This bucked a trend identified in our research, Outside, which revealed that people who are vision impaired are spending less time in activities outside their homes, following the pandemic.
“People were popping up online from all over the country, even internationally!” enthused Ian Abbott, Operations Director for Extant. With a strong following, and mailing list, Extant decided it was time to scale up and go national,” he added.
No Dramas has been running for several years, a beloved programme of activity that has been boosting morale and confidence since it began in April 2019.
A participant of the programme said: “[No Dramas is] Extremely useful for socialising, inclusiveness and mental wellbeing. These sessions also help combat isolation and loneliness and build self-confidence.”
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Moving beyond London
Extant used data to gauge interest in different geographical areas. As a result, they opted to base five-week programmes in Hereford at The Courtyard and The Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton.
The programme, which includes an expansion of Extant’s usual curriculum, kicks off for five weeks on Tuesday 1 October and covers five modules; improvisation, devising, voice and sound, physical theatre and acting skills. Wolverhampton workshops start on Tuesday 5 November at The Arena Theatre.
Steve Reed, who’ll be running the inclusive sessions, is a long-time facilitator and vision impaired professional, for the London workshops. So Extant is challenging Steve to get out of his comfort zone and deliver the sessions outside London, while also training a local facilitator to run the sessions independently, should the sessions continue (this would be funded by ACE).
The tip of the iceberg...
This is just one of the many initiatives we’re funding to tackle the prevalence of loneliness and isolation among blind and vision impaired people. Extant’s successes and challenges will help us all to learn, grow and share, building a blueprint for fresh opportunities for connection and confidence building amongst people who are vision impaired.
Further reading
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‘The Unseen’: How a ground-breaking report inspired an audio dramaHow a ground-breaking report inspired an audio drama
A new audio drama, ‘Unseen’ is shining a spotlight on the unique experiences of domestic abuse survivors who are blind and vision impaired. Funded by Fight for Sight, this unsettling drama has been co-created by victims and survivors with Extant, the UK’s leading professional performing arts company of vision impaired artists. And the result is as powerful as it is important…
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Behind the scenes of Unseen, a gripping new audio dramaBehind the scenes of Unseen, a gripping new audio drama
In 2022 we worked alongside SafeLives to publish The Unseen, a report exploring abuse experienced by members of the visually impaired community. You can find the report here. In the wake of its publication, Extant Theatre reached out to inquire about building a theatrical piece around The Unseen. In their final week of the devising phase, Extant were kind enough to invite us to check in on the project.
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Outside - Insight ReportOutside - Insight Report
Research revealing people who are blind and vision impaired are three times more likely to experience loneliness and isolation.
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