Daniel (2011)
30th June and 1st July
Tron Lab Tron Theatre, Glasgow A staged reading of new work. Written and directed by Martin O'Connor. With Anita Vettesse and Keith MacPherson. With support from a Creative Scotland Professional Development Fund, a New Writers Award from the Playwright's Studio Scotland and the Tron Theatre. Over the course of a week, Martin conducted conversations with parents of children with Down's Syndrome, and crafted a new script for development. The aim of the research was to investigate staging work with recorded sound and live performance, and to explore best practice in staging the stories of lived experiences of disability. There was a discussion after each performance with the invited audience, made up individuals, organisations and theatre companies with an interest in the arts and equalities. While studying for his Masters Degree in Education (Equality and Diversity), Martin used this project as the basis of his final research paper entitled Using narrative research and verbatim theatre to explore parents’ and carers’ views of Down’s Syndrome, which included further interviews with additional parents and carers. The development of this project is ongoing and will form part of Martin's forthcoming two-year research project Personal Narratives in Public Performance. Supported by: |