Fun, Friendship And A Fabulous Sensory Show At Leeds Playhouse's BEAUTIFUL OCTOPUS CLUB FESTIVAL

Leeds Playhouse's Beautiful Octopus Club Festival – a four-day celebration of creativity for people with learning disabilities – is back this month offering fun, friendship and a fabulous sensory show.

Running from 29 January to 1 February, the festival includes an Interaction Day, during which people can explore the Playhouse and take part in activities like drumming and yoga; a Club Night, with a live band and a DJ; art and craft sessions; and My Life With the Wave by Interplay Theatre, a sensory show created for people with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.

As part of the festival, Interplay is also running a Sensory Theatre Symposium for artists, companies and venues exploring sensory performance for learning disabled audiences. The symposium will include discussions led by artists specialising in work for learning disabled people, audience members sharing reflections on their most memorable arts experiences, and panels celebrating best practice.

Among the artists taking part are Jeremy Harrison, artist and researcher at Playground and Rose Bruford College, and JoAnne Haines from Bradford-based Mind the Gap, discussing her recent show, Dancing with Colours. Other panel members include artists from Interplay Theatre, Frozen Light and Leeds Playhouse.  

Attendees with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities or complex needs can experience the symposium through all the senses via interactive installations, shows and sensory sessions running throughout the day.

Delegates will also have the opportunity to see My Life With the Wave, a story inspired by the poem of the same name by Mexican Poet Laureate Octavio Paz, using movement, sound, digital technology and physical interaction to create an immersive sensory experience.  

The biannual Beautiful Octopus Club Festival is part of Leeds Playhouse's year-round programme of activities for people with learning disabilities. It offers a term time structured weekly arts course and weekend drop-in workshops for young people with learning disabilities offering movement, drama, visual art, sensory sessions, fun and friendship.  

Find out more about the Playhouse's programme for people with learning disabilities.

Leeds Playhouse has been one of the UK's leading producing theatres for more than 50 years. It is an award-winning theatre and a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and engage in world class theatre. Its warm welcome was recently recognised at the UK Theatre Awards, where it was named Most Welcoming Theatre 2022. It makes work which is pioneering and relevant, seeking out the best companies and artists to create inspirational theatre in the heart of Yorkshire.

Alongside the work on its stages, the Playhouse works creatively with the people, artists and communities of Leeds through its innovative, sector-leading Playhouse Connect programme. Focussing on two key areas – Learning & Skills and Creative Communities – Playhouse Connect engages with thousands of people in the region each year. As part of this work, its Artistic Development programme, Furnace, engages with theatre-makers, providing a creative space to refine their practice at all stages of their careers; it builds, develops and sustains projects to connect with refugee communities, young people and students, older people and people with learning disabilities; it hands over spaces to communities to use in ways they choose, from breakdancing to roller-skating, craft markets to tea parties, enlivening the building whilst fostering deeper relationships; and works in-residence around the city, connecting with people on their doorsteps.

As a registered charity, Leeds Playhouse relies on the support of valued partners to make great things happen. It is grateful for the continued support of Arts Council England, Leeds City Council, The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation and the many charitable trusts, business partners and individuals that continue to support the vital work of the theatre.

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