Flute Theatre promises transformative Shakespeare in Brighton

The company performs Pericles in two productions to include all possible audiences: for autistic individuals and refugees, they say, using the language best understood by the participants.

Brighton Fringe Festival performances at Caravanserai are May 23, 25, 26 at 5pm and May 24 at 10.30pm. Box office: brightonfringe.org/whats-on/

Associate artist Tash Haward said: “This unique double performance pushes the boundaries of what is possible for live Shakespeare performance in the 21st century, both in terms of audience reach and artistic vision. Pericles for autistic individuals and their families is created using Flute’s founder and director Kelly Hunter’s acclaimed Hunter’s Heartbeat method – a series of sensory games which allow participants to share how it feels to be alive and celebrate their identity. This work is a living practice that continues to change and respond to whoever is using it, enabling refugees to engage with the production, along with those autistic individuals. Flute Theatre’s Pericles is a full-scale production for general audiences that is informed by the company’s work with autistic individuals. The company share all the roles and play music live on stage.”

Kelly Hunter explained: “I created Flute Theatre to perform Shakespeare for audiences where the need for transcendence in theatre is greatest. With our double Pericles performances we offer a transformational experience to a genuinely inclusive audience who may not otherwise have the chance to attend. The story of people fleeing for their lives, losing loved ones at sea and experiencing miraculous reunions speaks loudly to our audiences today. To watch both shows allows an audience to see deeper into Shakespeare’s mysterious late play and offers a unique way into Shakespeare’s music of the spheres.”

Tash added: “The production of Pericles for autistic individuals was created in Sweden in 2019 and has since been performed internationally by the company including an online adapted version during the pandemic in three languages across five continents. Flute’s double Pericles productions were first performed in May 2022, at the Craiova Shakespeare Festival in Romania, with a full-scale production of Pericles in English and Pericles for autistic individuals and refugee families in Romanian and Russian. They follow the success of Flute’s adaptations of Hamlet and Twelfth Night which toured the European festival circuit between 2015-2019.

“Flute Theatre create and deliver ground-breaking productions of Shakespeare, changing the lives of autistic individuals and their families through specialised shows and long-term community projects across the world. Flute was founded in 2014 by artistic director Kelly Hunter. Their productions of Hamlet and Twelfth Night toured the major European Shakespeare Festival circuit between 2015-2019 including a sell run at Trafalgar Studios of Hamlet in 2016. We have created and toured three productions for autistic audiences, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pericles, all of which have toured internationally performing for autistic audiences around the world in several languages. During the pandemic Flute adapted their work to be available online for one autistic individual at a time, performing 976 live online adapted shows across the world, from Bangalore to Blackpool from March 2020-July 2021.”