tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8828823099864315938.post4643073369757998779..comments2023-10-12T16:08:14.017+01:00Comments on Lashings of Ginger Beer Time Blog: Accessibility: not just for audiencesAnnalyticahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06402598855200483948noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8828823099864315938.post-32280786523974208432012-07-31T11:03:47.873+01:002012-07-31T11:03:47.873+01:00It's really interesting to hear how Lashings p...It's really interesting to hear how Lashings prepares for events - particularly something like the Fringe which involves a whole run of shows and publicity in a different city. I'm familiar with the general accessibility problems of a lot of venues ("Why, yes, there's a disabled bathroom - it's just down those two steps. Or you can go out the front door, round the corner and get a member of staff to open the fire door for you...") but I hadn't considered that people making the bookings would only consider accessibility for audience members rather than performers - it's quite a revealing blind spot.<br /><br />Though as Swaldman mentioned, accessibility can cover a whole swathe of issues. I know someone who uses a wheelchair and is friends with people who organise events, and he is sometimes asked to just pop over and check that things are accessible for him - and then he has to point out that his accessibility needs are very different from some other people's. <br /><br />I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in Edinburgh for the first time!Alexander the Imphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13115142542576361265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8828823099864315938.post-45835051565483397282012-07-30T09:17:42.788+01:002012-07-30T09:17:42.788+01:00Theatres are odd, and frequently difficult, buildi...Theatres are odd, and frequently difficult, buildings. As you will have noticed ;-) Many were built in Victorian times, some as theatres and some as other things, and typically they've been altered and remodelled and bodged over the years so many times... Old ones in particular tend to be a nightmare to make accessible even FoH, and backstage gets an order of magnitude harder again. My old student theatre had its only access to the stage via a narrow staircase with corners, which presented significant problems even to able performers if they were wearing difficult costumes...<br /><br />...none of which is an excuse if venues don't make an effort to do everything that they reasonably can. There will probably always be a few bits of most theatres that are reachable only via ladders, but my old amateur venue was built with wheelchair access to the fly gallery - which doesn't seem as though it should be extraordinary, but is[1]. So I guess that's progress.<br /><br />It's interesting that people tend to equate accessibility with wheelchair access. I guess perhaps they think of wheelchair access as being the most difficult thing to provide for, which I imagine is usually true, but then assume that because they have managed that they must automatically have allowed for everything else?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8828823099864315938.post-26370383841096744812012-07-28T10:35:07.343+01:002012-07-28T10:35:07.343+01:00Disabled people should be treat right with equal b...Disabled people should be treat right with equal benefits. They are people too, they have talents that they can show to other people.North London hearing home visitshttp://www.nathangluckhearingcare.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8828823099864315938.post-40532978802944471322012-07-27T12:23:32.925+01:002012-07-27T12:23:32.925+01:00Incidentally, needing wheelchair access to the sta...Incidentally, needing wheelchair access to the stage and choreographing/blocking with a performer using a wheelchair are things that can happen unexpectedly - like (IIRC from one friend's experience) a few hours before the first performance - so being prepared to provide accomodation and change stage directions in near real-time is a good skillset to have.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com