Twelfth Night for Autistic People

My fourth show for autistic individuals, created in 2024, has been the happiest, funniest and most musical by far. For this production we finally have a new floorcloth for our autism shows designed with care and attention by Alice Hallifax in yellows, oranges and russets to bring sunlight, warmth and laughter into the space. Twelfth Night begins by asking us to play in a world of music and love which is exactly what we have done. The games are funny and irreverent, replacing Shakespeare's yellow stockings with a sea of yellow hats and offering the chance to hide behind veils of orange and yellow for Olivia's initial vows of celibacy.

Above all, there is gratitude and kindness running as an imperative throughout the play. "In nature there's no blemish but the mind, none can be called deformed but the unkind Act 3 sc4. The show was created at a time of intense human suffering in the world and we have all sought refuge in its warmth and kindness.

In May 2026, we performed the production in Romanian at the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival with our most profoundly autistic community whom we have been performing and playing with since 2022. Long may our collaboration continue. "