Extant Associate Artists dream of a bright future!

 

 

In March 2023 London audiences were fortunate to catch a work-in-progress show presented by Extant, featuring our two Associate Artists, Helena Ascough and Jasmin Thien. This double bill of new work was part of Camden People’s Theatre’s Sprint Festival, an annual celebration of new, experimental theatre. Both Jasmin and Helena wrote and performed as solo artists, not only leading the work as blind and visually impaired artists, but also supported by talented teams comprised of 50% blind and visually impaired creatives, including sound design, voiceover actors and assistant directors. The evening was a fantastic showcase of the exciting, up-and-coming talent in Extant’s network of artists!

Jasmin Thien performed first with her show ‘I Dream in Colour’ followed by Helena Ascough’s show ‘No Future’. Both shows were packed with inventive, integrated creative audio description and performed to a packed and appreciative audience. One audience member said, “I loved how both shows were so confident and uncompromising, which is exciting and I’m looking forward to more from the artists!”

Another commented, “I thought the performances of both actors was fantastic. There was a good energy, moments of joy and moments of sadness, great stuff!”

This is just the beginning for both artists. Helena is currently developing a new show for children and families, centring disabled people as the protagonists of fairy tales. Jasmin has been commissioned by both Camden People’s Theatre and Extant to continue developing ‘I Dream in Colour’ into a full-length show, which will debut at the Bloomsbury Festival on 15 October 2023. Save the date – more information coming soon!

 

 

The Associate Artist programme is core to the development of emerging blind and visually impaired artists here at Extant. Running since 2016, we have supported an impressive 11 shows so far, ranging from drag to Shakespeare, stand-up to new writing. We have recently revamped the Associate Artist section of our website to provide a comprehensive archive of past shows, which you can check out at this link: https://extant.org.uk/artist-development/associate-artists/