News and Opportunities - Page 3 of 19

A group of eight people of varying ethnicities and genders are rehearsing and smiling together. They are dressed colourfully and casually in a brightly lit white and green room.

Unseen: co-creation

Posted on: 3 Jun 2024

Unseen: co-creation and the devolution of creative power to a community of VI artists In November 2022, Maria Oshodi and I found ourselves representing Extant at a glitzy soiree at the House of Lords, hosted by the Vision Foundation in honour of the release of the Unseen Report. We were moved to hear the eloquent […]

A group of drag performers look out beyond the camera. Their expressions and poses are varied: some are smiling, some pouting, some laughing, some with arms and legs out, some posing with their hands to their face. They wear bright colours and unique outfits.

TAD2 Recruitment

Posted on: 15 May 2024

Applications are now open for our second Trainee Artistic Director! About Extant Extant is the UK’s leading professional performing arts company that explores visual impairment to create unique and innovative artistic experiences, placing visually impaired (VI) people at the centre of all it does: from the productions we create, to the artists we support, to the audiences […]

A group of 8 people sitting around a large table in a modern rehearsal space. There are six women and two men, who are all varying ages. The picture is taken candidly as they are engaging in a table read. From Ben, who is wearing a blue T-shirt and has a beard, clockwise we have Ben Wilson, Georgie Morrell, Esther Irving, Tam Gilbert, Tafsila Khan, Louise Hall, Ian Rattray and Anna Clarkson.

An insight into the creation of Unseen

Posted on: 19 Mar 2024

An insight into the creation of Unseen: An Assistant Producer’s perspective “We’d be delighted to offer you a place on the devising team and the Assistant Producer role if you’re still interested.” Nice one. My reply […]

Ben Wilson, a white man, with short blonde hair and a beard. He wears a floral shirt and is talking mid-sentence.

My Development As An Artistic Leader

Posted on: 5 Mar 2024

My Development As An Artistic Leader Amazingly, I am at the halfway point of my time as Trainee Artistic Director with Extant, but I am not sure how this has happened. The past seven and half months have flown by, but in other ways it feels like I have been at Extant forever. […]

A group of three white people sitting and discussing feedback on a post-it note at a Brixton House rehearsal room.

Enhance spreads its wings!

Posted on: 5 Mar 2024

Enhance spreads its wings! One of the first things I organised when starting my role as Enhance Training Manager in October 2023, was to recruit a pool of experienced visually impaired facilitators and access workers. I worked with many Extant creatives during Pathways 2020-23, and was happy to reconnect with them and the wider […]

Ben Wilson simmers over Richard III controversy

Posted on: 24 Jan 2024

Ben Wilson simmers over the recent Richard III controversy As a disabled person and a Shakespeare nerd, I struggle with Richard III. It’s a really tricky play. Part of me wants to tear it up and never see it again because it’s strewn with vile ableism from start to finish. My soul sinks every time […]

A group of two white men and two white women chat and smile together in a relaxed workshop space. They all face away from the camera, and are surrounded by chairs and a large window looking out onto trees.

Enhancing Enhance!

Posted on: 29 Nov 2023

Enhancing Enhance! Enhance 2 – our tailor-made access support and training for shows in post-production – is ready for a 3-year roll-out from 2023-26. Thanks to Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we are now offering this tailor-made programme for venues and touring theatre companies across the U.K. We will be working with 54 touring theatre companies […]

Blind in Theatre Festival

Posted on: 29 Nov 2023

Blind in Theatre Festival in Zagreb In October, along with Artist Development Manager Louisa, I lead Extant’s biannual visit to the Blind In Theatre festival (BIT) at the New Life theatre in Zagreb, Croatia. Louisa and I were joined by Samuel Brewer, Aarian Mehrabani and Alice Christina Corrigan. Sam and Aarian are both VI actors […]

Jasmin Thien sits on a wooden chair in a black box theatre. Jasmin is a young Chinese-British woman with long dark hair pinned back off her face. She wears a white top and skirt decorated with floral motifs, and white trainers. The floor under the chair and around the stage is marked with white tactile flooring tiles.

I Dream in Colour – 5 star review at the Bloomsbury Festival 2023

Posted on: 29 Nov 2023

I Dream in Colour – 5 star review at the Bloomsbury Festival 2023 October was a busy month for Extant with our Associate Artist, Jasmin Thien. First we presented an excerpt of her show I Dream in Colour at Camden People’s Theatre to a packed crowd, then later in the month we held a full-length […]

Extant create new audio drama Unseen about the impact of domestic abuse on the VI community

Posted on: 29 Nov 2023

Extant create new audio drama Unseen about the impact of domestic abuse on the VI community Extant are creating Unseen, an audio drama that imaginatively explores and portrays the unique ways in which domestic abuse affects blind and visually impaired individuals. Unseen is a creative response to The Unseen Report (if you would like to […]

Maria, a biracial middle aged woman, wearing a black long-sleeved top, burgundy peaked cap and glasses, sits at a round table with an open laptop, smiling out at camera, next to a blue banner with the Middlesex University coat of arms which has in capital letters, 'The Future You Want - Master your career with postgraduate study'.

Taking on the Challenge of ‘presenceing’

Posted on: 29 Nov 2023

Taking on the Challenge of ‘presenceing’ Years ago, when I informed my writing agent that I was going to take a break from writing and enrol for a degree in drama, she asked in a puzzled tone, “Why?”. What she meant was why would anyone at that precise point interrupt a healthy blossoming career as […]

Free Creative Workshops for VI Individuals with Experience of Domestic Violence

Posted on: 25 Sep 2023

Extant offers free creative workshops for VI individuals with experience of domestic violence Extant are creating ‘Unseen,’ an audio drama that imaginatively explores and portrays the unique ways in which domestic violence affects blind and visually impaired individuals. We are offering free creative workshops online to any blind or visually impaired individual with lived […]