A performance of Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light took place last week in the University of Sheffield Drama Studio to a large and receptive audience. The play focused on the character of Elsa, played by Hannah Genesius, as it explores her experience of her misdiagnosed and misunderstood autism in childhood to her happier, more independent life as an adult. She was joined by Yemisi Oyinloye and Zoe Lambert who primarily took on the roles of Carmen, Elsa’s love interest, and Elsa’s mum respectively, but also utilised multi-rolling as they played the other characters that Elsa interacted with.
As part of the performance, each audience member was given a pair of headphones, where they had the ability to select what noise level they wished to experience the production with: blue for all sound, red for all noise without high pitched sound, and green for a more relaxed experience. Through this, the production was able to theatrically portray elements of autism in intense ways through the use of sound, such as meltdowns, whilst not alienating members of the audience who may be uncomfortable or triggered by such a depiction. As almost all audience members opted to wear the headphones, even if they did not wish to remove any of the sound, it felt as though no-one was made to feel singled out for needing this accessibility function.
This, alongside Genesius’ direct interaction with the audience, really demonstrated how much the company had considered the accessibility needs of their audience. Throughout the performance, Genesius would directly address the audience to discuss what had taken place on stage, whilst remaining in character – a particular favourite moment of this is when Genesius said that if you were anything like her (Elsa), you might be needing a break at this moment, before guiding the audience through a short stretching moment, and inviting us all to yell “onions”.
It was this constant attention towards accessibility being integrated into the production that I believe made the performance really shine. Too often, it feels as though media created with a focus on neurodiverse experiences is created primarily for neurotypical audiences rather than the people who the work is representing. By bringing the audience into the performance in such a way, the story was able to be told in a way that suggested kinship with Elsa and the audience members who themselves are neurodiverse, rather than the production feeling like it had been created to be an educational experience for neurotypical people.
However, whilst this was an enjoyable theatre experience, ultimately the production lacked a level of depth that I would have loved to have seen as the other characters in the production that were not Elsa seemed to lack a level of well-roundedness, and instead seemed to be more like ‘types’ than actual people. This may have been an intentional choice made to communicate the social difficulties often experienced by autistic people, however this could have been done in a way that does not compromise the cohesive experience of the production.
Overall, this production was a great viewing experience, and it was wonderful to see a performance that creatively embedded accessibility into all of its aspects. Whilst the lack of attention paid to the secondary characters made the experience lack emotional depth, Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light is still a shining example of how to tackle the topic of neurodiversity in a theatrical setting.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light played at the University of Sheffield Drama Studio on February 13th, & touring the U.K. until March 6th
