Disabled Artists Show Their Creativity Is Unlimited

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 124 months ago

Last Updated 30 August 2014

Disabled Artists Show Their Creativity Is Unlimited

Touretteshero, aka Jessica Thom

The Southbank Centre is bringing back Unlimited, its festival of theatre, art, dance, music, poetry and comedy from disabled artists.

Unlimited was originally part of the Cultural Olympiad in 2012 and it's great to see it back. What we like most is the way it incorporates things like BSL, captioning and audio descriptions as standard — something that's obvious for this festival, but should be a given for many more artistic ventures.

There's lots happening, but we'll draw your attention to Robert Softley Gale's performance of real-life narratives taken from interviews with disabled people; a comedic and affectionate portrayal of Alzheimer's from playwright Julie McNamara; a free display of circus skills that tells the story of touch; Stopgap Dance Company's several open-air performances of their piece The Awakening; and dance the night away for free with a massive multimedia club night.

Be sure to catch Tourettes Bipolar Alliance as they bid for pop superstardom with two free gigs; Jess Thom, AKA Touretteshero, hooks up with Jess Mabel Jones elsewhere during the festival for a two woman show exploring creativity and spontaneity. A more child-friendly event is Edmund the Learned Pig, based on an unpublished poem by Edward Gorey and produced by Fittings Multimedia Arts, Krazy Kat and The Royal Exchange.

Unlimited runs at the Southbank Centre 2-7 September. Ticket prices vary between free and £15. For more information and to book, see the Southbank Centre website.