Graeae Theatre Company

Graeae Theatre Company, often abbreviated to just Graeae (pronounced "grey-eye") is a British organisation composed of D/deaf and disabled artists and theatre makers. As well as producing theatre which it tours nationally and internationally to traditional theatres and outdoor spaces, Graeae run a large and varied Creative Learning and training programme for emerging, young and mid-career D/deaf and disabled artists.

Graeae was founded in 1980 by Nabil Shaban and Richard Tomlinson, who named the company after the Graeae of Greek mythology. In 1981 the Company was offered the use of an office, rehearsal space and facilities for 18 months by the West End Centre, an Arts Centre in Aldershot in Hampshire. During that year, the Company became eligible to receive full funding from the Arts Council of Great Britain. Graeae are currently a National Portfoilo Organisation of Arts Council England.

Since 2009, Graeae have been based at the award-winning and fully accessible Bradbury Studios in Hoxton, East London, in the London Borough of Hackney.

In 1984 the Graeae Theatre Company won a Special Award in the Evening Standard Awards, and has since won numerous awards, including the Promotion of Diversity Award at the UK Theatre Awards 2012. It also won the Euan's Guide Most Accessible Production for Jack Thorne's The Solid Life of Sugar Water at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Jenny Sealey MBE has been Artistic Director and CEO since 1997, and Amit Sharma joined as Associate Director in 2011.

Repertoire

Actors who have appeared with the company include Arthur Hughes, Genevieve Barr, Beth Hinton-Lever, John Kelly, Garry Robson, Cherylee Houston, Nadia Albina, Melissa Johns, Mat Fraser, Laurence Clark and Nabil Shaban.

Graeae has produced plays by Jack Thorne, Sarah Kane, Jackie Hagan, Jo Clifford, David Ireland, Kaite O'Reilly, Lorca, Paul Sirett, Glyn Cannon and Sam Boardman-Jacobs.

Graeae has performed at the National Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Soho Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, Dundee Rep, Derby Theatre and Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester amongst other notable theatres across the UK.

Recent Productions for Radio

In collaboration with Naked Productions Ltd, Graeae has produced the following radio drama adaptations in recent years, for BBC Radio 4

• Amy Dorrit, adapted by April de Angelis and Nicola Werenowska, based on the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (2018)
• Graeae's Midwich Cuckoos, adapted by Roy Williams, based on the novel by John Wyndham (2017)

Both the above productions were directed by Polly Thomas and Jenny Sealey.

Creative Learning & Training Programmes

As well as producing work for the stage, Graeae runs a large and varied creative learning and training programme for young, early and mid-career artists. These programmes include

• Ensemble, training young D/deaf and disabled theatre makers between the ages of 17-30
• Write to Play, developing the skills of skills of D/deaf and disabled playwrights
• Dare You, inclusive leadership training for the corporate sector
• The Rollettes, Graeae's youth company aged 7-16, who typically perform once a year

In recent years, Graeae have also delivered training programmes with D/deaf and disabled artists internationally in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan and Sri Lanka.

Other artistic projects

In 2018, Oberon Books published Reasons to be Graeae: A Work in Progress, a selection of essays and reflections by theatre makers and collaborators from Graeae's 38 year history. Edited by Jenny Sealey, contributors include Jack Thorne, Mat Fraser, Nabil Shaban, Kathryn Hunter, Jemima Dury and Maria Oshodi.

In 2017, for the new production of Reasons to be Cheerful, Graeae commissioned original Blockhead members Chaz Jankel and Derek Hussey along with regular company performer John Kelly, to write a new protest song. If It Can't Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong was performed at the curtain call of all performances of the 2017 tour, and was recorded as a seperate track and released via Graeae's digital channels. It was also performed live on BBC Radio London.

In 2016, Graeae collaborated with the Central Illustration Agency to produce a new collection of illustrative work entitled Reframing the Myth. This saw 38 illustrators paired with 38 D/deaf and disabled artists who had previously performed or collaborated with Graeae. This project culminated in an exhibition at The Guardian newspaper headquarters in Kings Cross, London in February 2016.

External links

• Graeae Theatre Company website
• The Beginning of Graeae
• Graeae Theatre Company Information from the official British Council website