More about

Vis-a-Visibility is a powerful, uplifting and humorous piece of theatre which takes a well-needed but also irreverent look at issues that arise for people who identify as being both LGBT and Disabled. Funded by Arts Council England and the Platinum Trust, the production is a joint creation of Artemis Theatre Company and the national LGBT Disabled People's Organisation, Regard.

As many as one in three LGBT people are disabled, due to the physical and mental impact of homophobia as well as HIV. However, our community is largely invisible, and this is the first time that any production has been produced about the lived experiences of LGBT disabled people.

In order to create the show, writer and director Clare Summerskill led five Sunday afternoon drama workshops for 15 LGBT disabled people over March/April 2012 at Vicarage Lane Community Centre in Stratford. These combined drama exercises with discussions and improvisations about the lives of LGBT disabled people. Participants came from a range of impairment and access groups, including people with physical and sensory impairments, mental health difficulties and long-term health conditions, and their ages ranged from the late teens to the late 60s.

The final script has been written and compiled by Clare Summerskill and members of the company, and the show is performed by the participants themselves. Click here to find out more about the cast and crew, and click here to view rehearsal photographs from People Show Studios.

In 2013, we hope to release a film version of Vis-a-Visibility. As a result of increasing the visibility of our community and familiarity with the issues facing us, as well as providing much-needed resources, this will also help to improve service provision for LGBT disabled people and achieve greater inclusion for us in the LGBT and disabled communities.

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	Workshop photographs from Vicarage Lane Community Centre: Julie Newman