The Blanket fort club
a sensory immersive theatre experience for all children.
TOURING SHEFFIELD AND SOUTH YORKSHIRE
APRIL 2024
WELCOME TO THE BLANKET FORT CLUB!
WE ARE A SHEFFIELD BASED THEATRE COMPANY MAKING BOLD, INNOVATIVE AND MAGICAL SENSORY EXPERIENCES FOR ALL CHILDREN, ELEVATING CREATIVE ACCESS AND FORGING UNFORGETTABLE STORYTELLING JOURNEYS.
- We believe that in an immersive sensory theatre experience, instead of ‘getting lost’ in a magical world, we can look to be found through the beauty of play, laughter and connection within a shared experience.
- Through extensive research and ground-breaking theatre making practice, we have applied the exhilarating sensations of immersive experiences to the accessible sensory theatre model, generating a revolution in theatre for young audiences, inclusive and engaging to all.
- We know that great theatre should be accessible for all, available to all, dare to be different and have unwavering ambition to ensure the next generation of theatre goers and makers.
- The Blanket Fort Club uses embedded audio description, Makaton and 'in character' guides to journey through sensory spaces, empowering participants to engage with characters, choose their own adventure and explore.
I loved it! It felt like my own
magical world had come alive-
audience participant during the R&D, Sheffield Theatres.
The Blanket Fort Club is a wondrous place where the possibilities of invention are limited only by the imagination. The Starry Night Flurry, a once in a lifetime celestial event, is about to take place and our treasured Blanket Fort Club members are invited to join Snow, Ice and Wind for the celebrations. But with Snow and Ice falling out and Wind blowing in a strange change, will we be able to get to the observatory in time? An unforgettable adventure exploring infinite love, resilience and the joy in a moment shared.
THE EXPERIENCE
What is it: A 60 minutes immersive, sensory theatre experience with character ‘hosts’ guiding us through tactile spaces in a living, breathing, sonic blanket fort! Discover The Three Little Pigs in The Story Room, splash through the puddles in the rain corridor, construct a castle in the building room. Once you've journeyed through the blanket fort, all you’ll need is a sheet and your imagination to find your way back to us.
Who is it for: Young children aged 5-8 and all children who would encounter barriers to access in traditional theatre experiences including children with complex needs and disabilities and Profound Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD). Ideal for a school group or an experience shared with parents, carers and friends.
Where is it: Sheffield City Centre with an adaptable show that can tour to special schools.
When is it: From April 2024.
She was so excited to join in the
dramatic parts and she loved the hands
-on engagement- Rowan School teacher during R&D, Leeds Playhouse
The Blanket Fort
Within The Blanket Fort there are different sensory spaces to journey through and explore, all playfully celebrating the beauty of shared moments.
Check Out Some Blanket Fort Club Designs
Mono No Aware
Click images for design and sound
Children were so engaged and connected- teacher, The Rowan School, Sheffield.
Huffington Wolf Hardware
(Three Little Pigs)
THE IDEA
IN 2020, DURING THE LOCKDOWN, I SPENT WHOLE AFTERNOONS BUILDING WORLDS OUT OF HOUSEHOLD ITEMS AND FURNITURE WITH MY SON, WHO IS AUTISTIC, AND HAS LEARNING DISABILITIES, AND HIS YOUNGER SISTER.
We went on, eager to grow our world and play within it, knowing we might also need to perhaps put it all away some day. We learnt to love that part of our blanket fort club too.
The Blanket Fort Club is that love realised as a sensory immersive theatre experience for young children aged 5-8, children with complex needs and disabilities and profound, multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).
In this cosy hub we could tell stories, imagine up adventures, share our dreams and secrets; we were a club. And when something fell down, we made it new, and when it was time to eat, we borrowed back a chair or two to sit down and have our meal together.
CREATIVE ACCESS AND INCLUSION
CREATIVE ACCESS AND INCLUSION SITS AT THE VERY HEART OF WHAT WE DO, FROM THE VERY INCEPTION OF OUR STORYTELLING TO THE WAY WE ENGAGE WITH OUR COMMUNITIES; WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BLANKET FORT CLUB.
What are Sensory Immersive Experiences?
The Blanket Fort Club has a broad appeal, offering a cosy sanctuary for some and an endlessly playful and absorbing activity for others, smashing down barriers to access, embedding:
- Makaton and audio description throughout
- Touch Tours and Social Stories
- Close up and responsive sensory storytelling
- Interactive character guides
- Supportive audio/visual transition cues
- Orientation and performance maps.
- Visual timetables
- CPD and Familiarisation Visits.
Sensory immersive theatre includes all young people, sharing in interactive stories and themes which incorporate sounds, smells, touch, lights, music and movement within a tactile environment where engagement informs and enriches experience. These experiences are made especially for and with children and young people, regardless of their perceived ability.
Say hi, Snow and Ice!
Click the image for video.
Digital engagement for schools and families Outreach engagement workshops
Spring 2024 Tour in South Yorkshire
In Spring, 2024 we will be touring the Blanket Fort Club to Rivelin Co in Sheffield, CAST in Doncaster and Grimm & Co in Rotherham. In addition to our spring tour we shall also be providing blanket fort building workshops and research and development time with young learners and teaching staff in Rotherham.
Filling spaces in the north of England with story, vibrancy, blankets and inspired children, The Blanket Fort Club will be the first production of its kind where children aged 5-8 and children with autism and disabilities can experience a show together and at the same time. This will not just help generate footfall with an unforgettable experience, it will be the rich cultural offer that children ardently need and deserve, making cultural steppingstones to the arts and demonstrating theatre as universally transformative, not merely a pleasure for adults with expendable income.
WHO ARE WE?
A collective of Sheffield based creatives, directors and artists with many years experience developing professional theatre shows and engagement programmes for and with children and communities.
Want to chat? Email us!
Here are some of the organisations
we have worked with.
George Stone is a director and dramaturg from Sheffield. Her work includes; Stable (Barnsley Civic/UK tour), The Night Constable (Ramps on the Moon), The Third Murderer (Sheffield Theatres), Showtime! (Sheffield Theatres) Winter Tales of Wonder (Sheffield Theatres), Twisted Heist (Half Moon Theatre).
Sally Proctor is a theatre director and creative practitioner who specialises in community arts and socially engaged projects. Her recent work includes interactive arts projects and large-scale participatory productions with The Bare Project, the National Theatre’s Public Acts, RivelinCo and Slung Low. Based at Slung Low for five years she helped launch the inaugural Community Cultural College and Leeds People’s Theatre.
Sam Glossop is a Sound Designer and Composer Based in Sheffield. His recent design work includes; Much Ado About Nothing (Sheffield Theatre/UK Tour) Home (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre); Flinch (UK Tour), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (UK Tour); Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon (Southwark Playhouse).
Kevin Jenkins is a designer of set and costumes for theatrical productions based in South Yorkshire. His recent work includes; The Girl Next Door (Stephen Joseph Theatre), Home Girl (Derby Theatre), Bussing Out (Theatre in the Mill, Bradford, A Series of Public Apologies (Sheffield Theatres), Coram Boy (Nottingham Playhouse).
The Bear Project
