Where the Magic Happens

Lyric Hammersmith Studio, 2022

The show was commissioned in 2022 by Turtle Key Arts to play at JOY, a festival celebrating the work of disabled artists, at Lyric Hammersmith. The show was a co-written and co-directed by Open Sky’s Lisle Turner and Claire Coaché who worked alongside Sam Obigbesan, an emerging, blind writer and Aisling Gallagher, a neuro-diverse director and accessibility advocate. In addition to co-directing Aisling also facilitated the creation of a manifesto that offered a code of conduct to include and protect the access needs of the entire cast and crew.

Lisle and Sam interviewed many young residents of Hammersmith and Fulham who were living with disabilities and turned their testimonies into character sketches and a prose story. Claire and Aisling then worked with the cast to devise action, refine dialogue and add some musical numbers scored and performed by the ensemble.

The show was performed twice at Lyric Hammersmith Studio and then sadly the planned tour to local SEN schools was cancelled due to Covid.

Performed by
Aqua Ephraim, John Fuller, Nell Hardy, Noah Silverstone & Saida Ahmed

Written by Sam Obigbesan & Lisle Turner
Directed by Aisling Gallagher & Claire Coaché
Produced by Kelly Bray & Turtle Key Arts
Designed by Ioana Curelea
Costume Assistant: Phoebe Rushworth
Stage Management: David Palmer &  Sharon Calcutt Cheadle
Access workers: Fleur Rooth, Frank Wurzinger, Michelle Hudson, Stella Farina & Emily Makaza

With thanks to members of Bishop Creighton House, MENCAP HF, 54 The Gate, E-Unique and Fulham Cross Academy for sharing their stories.

Commissioned and Produced by Turtle Key Arts in partnership with Lyric Hammersmith and Hammersmith and Fulham Arts Festival

Funded by Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants

Photography by Shane Aurosseau