Preparing for a challenge…

Development Manager Eve Smith updates us on an upcoming fundraising challenge… 

It’s hard to think about Christmas in May, but this year we were. Whilst tickets for this year’s pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sold and restaurant bookings started to fill up, behind the scenes we began preparations for a couple of new initiatives.

Eve Smith

By the summer we announced that as well as the usual Panto fun, this year’s festive production will be even more special. In January 2014 we’ll be working in collaboration with Qdos Entertainments, to present our very first Relaxed Performance – a tailored show for people with an autistic spectrum condition, learning disabilities or a sensory and communication disorder. Audience members will be welcomed to a less formal theatre environment, with reduced sound and lighting levels and the opportunity to leave and return into the auditorium should they need to.

The Relaxed Performance is a natural progression in our work with people with learning disabilities, which has been a core area of the education department (now known as Creative Learning) for many years. It’s also a project that many of us are very excited to be involved in – from cast and crew to creative learning, from front of house to fundraising.

Stephanie Beacham supports The Big Give

That leads me on to the second festive initiative also first worked on back in the Spring – The Big Give Christmas Challenge. This matched-funded annual challenge will help raise the much needed funds to present our Relaxed Performance. We were accepted on to the scheme in June and have been preparing our campaign ever since – the challenge of raising £6,000! It’s a good challenge, due to the fact that all donations made online will not only support this very valuable performance, but they’ll also potentially be doubled by The Big Give. Anything given online (www.birminghamhippodrome.com/biggive) from Thursday 5 December could be worth twice as much if there are matching funds available at the time of the donation. It’s the first time we’ve been involved in this great scheme and again, we’re very excited about it!

Over the coming weeks you’ll hear much more about the Relaxed Performance and indeed The Big Give Christmas Challenge. For now though, even though it’s November and the Christmas Lights and German Market have arrived, it might still be (for some) a little too soon to think about Christmas but it’s just around the corner and will be here before you know!

For more info on The Big Give Christmas Challenge click here.

Access for All…

Chair of Birmingham Hippodrome’s Access Forum, Vidar Hjardeng talks about the theatre’s work in making live performance accessible for all…

During my time in Birmingham, going back some years now, I have always been a fan of the theatre and attending performances here at Birmingham Hippodrome. Over the last few years my enjoyment has been enhanced by the audio described performances, part of the Hippodrome’s commitment to access for all.

Vidar Hjardeng

Audio Described performances are a wonderful experience. As I sit in my seat in the auditorium everything visual performed on stage is relayed to me through a headset by two audio describers who sit in a booth at the back of the theatre. They describe facial expressions, humour or tragedy and really enhance the theatre experience for any blind or partially sighted patron.

One of the aspects of the audio described performances that make it a VIP experience (Visually Impaired Person/Very Important Person) is the Touch Tour. Touch Tours takes place about one and a half hours before a show where blind and partially sighted theatre patrons get the chance to go on stage, sometimes meet the cast or backstage staff, explore the set and get close up to key aspects of the performance including props and costumes.

My most recent experience of a Touch Tour was during the recent run of the National Theatre’s War Horse at the Hippodrome. We met the puppeteers and cast who gave a fascinating insight into their work on the production and I got a real feel for how Joey the horse comes to life on stage. Probably one of the most impressive Touch Tours I have been on!

Patrons enjoy at touch tour at BRB’s Cinderella

About 3 or 4 years ago now Liz Leck, the theatre’s Creative Learning Manager, mentioned setting up an Access Forum where members with varying access needs could feedback and have a role in Birmingham Hippodrome and improving on the service it provides to patrons including those with a disability. I was asked to Chair the Forum and now, some years on, we have really done a lot of work, thanks to the passion of the theatre staff, in providing a top class service to those with access needs who come along to experience a show.

The Access Forum, who meet at the theatre every 3 months is an incredibly important part of the theatre’s work. Because of the rapport built up between members of staff and members of the Forum, people feel that they can express their views and that they are listened to making it all worthwhile and an invaluable platform.

I am a huge evangelist when it comes to the benefits for blind and partially sighted people. Particularly the Audio Described performances and Touch Tours. If you haven’t already do please give it a go it makes such a difference to the theatre experience.

Vidar is currently Diversity Consultant for ITV News and was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 Queen’s New Years Honours List for his services to Visually Impaired People and to Broadcasting. Tune in to a Podcast with Vidar here…

Give Big this Christmas…

Save the date!

We are delighted to have been selected to join this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge with a focus on raising money towards our first-ever ‘relaxed performance’.

The relaxed performance of the UK’s biggest pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs takes place on Thursday 30 January 2014 at 1pm. It is specially designed to ensure that children on the autism spectrum, plus those with learning difficulties or sensory and communication disorders have the opportunity to enjoy a live theatre experience. The relaxed performance is designed to make children – many of whom will be first-time theatre goers – feel comfortable and to reduce any anxiety. Some of the loud and bright elements of the pantomime will be reduced, strobe lighting and pyrotechnics will be removed, and staff and cast will accommodate movement and noise within the auditorium.

Donations made via The Big Give on Thu 5, Fri 6 and Sat 7 Dec could be doubled by the charity – enabling you to potentially double your donations at no extra cost! We are encouraging everyone to save the date and help us to provide a unique theatre experience for disadvantaged children.

Please visit www.thebiggive.org.uk from 10am on Thursday 5, Friday 6 or Saturday 7 December, or go to www.birminghamhippodrome.com/biggive

Take a look below to watch a trailer supporting the Big Give from our Panto cast!

Thank you for your support.