We chatted with Artistic Director Tracy Radford and Clinical Psychologist Dr Brad English from Unanima Theatre Company about the fantastic work they do and why it's important to make rural touring inclusive. 

We have several strands of work...

Unanima Theatre - Unanima Theatre is Company in Residence at The Old Library in Mansfield and has been creating work since 2008. Our cast is exclusively LDA and using a collaborative devising process we create unique, witty, provocative theatre based on their lives, experiences and questions about the world and their existence within it.

Through compelling performances that invite audiences to laugh, ponder and wonder we seek to stimulate social change.  

We are passionate about removing the societal barriers faced by LDA people and we will continue to produce art that sparks solutions to this.

OneFest - OneFest is a week-long culture, comedy and campaigning festival held across Mansfield and Ashfield that has the primary aim of smashing the stigma and segregation LDA people face on a societal level. Though we curate the festival in a way that favours learning disabled and neurodivergent opportunities (both in terms of performers and audiences), we are dedicated to it being a space for everyone, disabled or not, to experience high calibre arts, culture, and partying. OneFest gives the LDA a chance to be out, loud and proud, and creates a rare context where the rest of the community surprises themselves by getting alongside their LDA counterparts and properly enjoying it.

Across seven days we deliver an exciting line-up of entertainment that is rich with high-profile professional artists, comedians and creatives. All events are accessible, reasonably priced or free, and provide experiences that will inspire and excite.

Human Artist - Human Artist is a year-long, entry-level programme in performance making and creativity, delivered by Unanima at Portland College as part of their curriculum offer. Students undergo the exploration of drama elements that expose each learner to the craft of theatre making and allows them to flex their creative muscles, as well as allowing them to enjoy all the well-being benefits and transferable skills that are gained through this.

Local Area Network - The Local Area Network is an initiative developed by Unanima and Inspire Youth Arts to bring all providers of creative provision in Mansfield and Ashfield for LDA people together. 

For LDA people across the region to have an equity of opportunity, there needs to be established programmes, pathways and routes that enable progression and development. The network has come together to map, plan and radically change the arts offer for LDA people in Mansfield and Ashfield predominantly, but looking forward, see this as the beginning of an offer that will be of interest to LDA people from outside of the area.

OneConversation - This is our grassroots activist movement that campaigns by working with organisations, schools and businesses to smash cognitive ableism and make it unacceptable.

Do you have any exciting projects lined up to tell us about? 

We are in the middle of devising our next piece of work that explores how little difference there is between the attitudes towards LDA people in the past compared to the now.
It is equally revealing and disturbing. 

Thank you to Tracy, Brad and Unanima Theatre for this interview.