A wide-angle nighttime photograph of a Flute Theatre performance in an outdoor amphitheatre, with a group of actors standing center stage in a close circle, illuminated by warm stage lighting. The large audience surrounds them in a semi-circle, fully engaged with the performance. Though this particular event was not an adaptation for autistic individuals, it reflects Flute Theatre’s broader mission to create inclusive, emotionally resonant Shakespearean experiences. Flute Theatre also leads workshops and training programmes in the Hunter Heartbeat Method for actors, educators, applied theatre students, and families around the world.

A Heartbeat Becomes Theatre

An Ecstasy of joy and dancing
– Reviews Hub

Flute Theatre is named after Flute the Bellows Mender in A Midsummer Night's Dream who transforms from not believing he can take part in a play to raising the roof with laughter, charisma and the joy of living. Transformation sits at the heart of every thing we try to do.

An inclusive performance by Flute Theatre, where actors and autistic participants sit together in a circular space painted with a swirling galaxy design. This moment captures an adaptation of Shakespeare using the Hunter Heartbeat method—a sensory drama technique created to engage autistic individuals through rhythm, breath, and connection. Flute Theatre provides these powerful, interactive performances alongside training for actors, teachers, family members, and applied theatre students.

In 2014, we created The Tempest for autistic people as a co-production with the RSC. This production performed at the South Bank Centre in 2015 and at the Orange Tree Theatre 2016. In 2017, Kelly Hunter directed it in Catalan at Teatre Lliure in Barcelona. Flute have continued to tour this production, performing with autistic individuals in the UK and internationally. During this time, we created Hamlet, Who’s there? which toured the International Shakespeare Festivals between 2015-2018 including a sold out run at Trafalgar Studios in London in 2016.

—The Courtyard Theatre (2014)

Actors dressed in red move dynamically across the floor in a warm, immersive space, surrounded by an audience. This performance by Flute Theatre uses sensory-rich design and movement to make Shakespeare’s language accessible and inclusive.

In 2017, we created A Midsummer Night’s Dream for autistic people in collaboration with Orange Tree Theatre. In 2018, Kelly Hunter returned to Teatre Lliure in Barcelona to direct the show in Catalan and the production also returned to the Orange Tree for a second run. In the UK we also delivered two runs of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for autistic people at the Bridge Theatre London in 2018 and 2019 and Chichester Festival Theatre. During 2017, we created our mainstage Twelfth Night which toured the International Shakespeare Festivals between 2017-2018 including a run at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2019.

—Orange Tree Theatre (2017)

A diverse group of actors and autistic participants sit in a circle, enthusiastically mirroring gestures in a group activity. This scene represents a signature exercise from the Hunter Heartbeat Method, designed to foster connection through rhythm, breath, and interaction.

In 2019 we created Pericles for autistic people in co-production with Riksteatern, Sweden, performing on tour in translation to Sweden, Poland and Romania. During this year, we introduced our work to communities in Japan and India. In the summer of 2019, we founded our community project for autistic people and their families in West London which continues to this day as well as our long-standing collaboration with St. John’s College Brighton which similarly continues to thrive.

—Lublin (2019)

During the pandemic we adapted our productions to be accessible online for the autistic community. Between March 2020 and July 2021, we delivered over 950 online live adapted performances for one autistic individual at a time across four continents.

Since 2021 we have performed and toured Pericles for autistic people. This production has been partnered by our main stage adaption of Pericles, created in 2022. These two shows make a unique theatrical double wherein we offer two productions of this same play performed by the same company. During 2023, using this Double Pericles model, we performed extensively across the UK, in London, Brighton, Colchester, Devon, Sheffield, Stratford upon Avon and Oxford as well as performing internationally in translation in Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian and Serbian.

—Notre Dame Centre for Refugees, London (2023)

A Flute Theatre actor kneels beside a young autistic participant, pointing into the distance with intense focus. This interactive moment demonstrates how Shakespeare’s stories are adapted through the Hunter Heartbeat Method to build trust and communication.

In May 2022, we travelled to Sofia Bulgaria to perform our Pericles with Ukrainian refugees, creating a long-term collaboration with them at The Situational Centre in Sofia Bulgaria. In September 2023, Kelly Hunter travelled to Lima Peru to create a Peruvian version of the production in Spanish at Teatro La Plaza for the Peruvian autistic community.

—Teatro La Plaza, Peru (2023)

A scene from a Flute Theatre adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Actors stretch dramatically across a stage, surrounded by music and playful physical storytelling. The production merges Shakespeare’s words with accessible performance for autistic audiences and mixed-ability casts.

In early 2024, we created Twelfth Night for autistic people returning to the Orange Tree Theatre for a successful three-week run, as well as giving a week of performances at Riverside Studios. We also created a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which we performed alongside our existing production for autistic people in Romania, Serbia and London. At the same time, we revisited Hamlet, creating a new adaptation - Hamlet Collateral Damage which premiered at the Riverside Studios in London. In the summer of 2024, we celebrated our tenth birthday with the world’s first Shakespeare festival for autistic people performing all four productions for autistic audiences alongside our new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Riverside Studios London.

—Novi Sad, Serbia (2024)

A group of families, including children with autism, parents, and facilitators, gathered together outdoors in Granollers, Barcelona. Some people are smiling and waving, while others sit on the ground or in wheelchairs, creating a warm and inclusive community atmosphere.

In October 2024, we travelled to Gothenburg, Sweden to work with our colleagues at Big Wind Theatre company, passing on the games of Twelfth Night for autistic people which they use as a long term project with their autistic communities.

In November 2024, Kelly Hunter and Aleix Melé took part in Encuentro Otros Territoros Festival in Queretaro Mexico, directing an adaptation of The Tempest for autistic people and their families. In the Spring of 2025, Kelly Hunter and Natasha Haward initiated a programme of Hunter Heartbeat Courses in the US, Spain and the UK. These are the first of their kind and will be part of Flute Theatre’s offer of unique and pioneering ways to use theatre for marginalised people.

In May 2025, we directed a new adaptation of our Pericles for autistic people at Phamaly Theatre in Denver Colorado using actors with disabilities as a core team, thereby exploring further the world of theatre for and with disabled artists and audiences. This is the eighth consecutive year we have performed with our community of Catalan families and actors in Granollers (Barcelona as well as our West London community of autistic people and their families at Riverside Studios London.

—Catalan families. Granollers (Barcelona)

We believe in the power of theatre to connect, and transform for autistic individuals and their families. Every performance, workshop, and training we create is rooted in deep empathy and artistic integrity.

Our Vision