Graeae Theatre Company, often abbreviated to just Graeae (pronounced "grey-eye") is a British organisation composed of deaf and disabled artists and theatre makers. As well as producing theatre which it tours nationally and internationally to traditional theatres and outdoor spaces, Graeae run a large and varied Creative Learning and training programme for emerging, young and mid-career deaf and disabled artists. Graeae was founded in 1980 by

Nabil Shaban Nabil Shaban (born 12 February 1953) is a Jordanian-British actor and writer. He co-founded Graeae—a theatre group which promotes disabled performers. He's best known as the recurring villain Sil in ''Doctor Who''. Early years and career S ...

and Richard Tomlinson, who named the company after the

Graeae In Greek mythology the Graeae ( grc, Γραῖαι; ; English translation: "old women", "grey ones", or "grey witches"; alternatively spelled Graiai and Graiae) were three sisters who had gray hair from their birth and shared one eye and one ...

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

. In 1981 the company was offered the use of an office, rehearsal space and facilities for 18 months by the West End Centre, an Arts Centre in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. During that year, the Company became eligible to receive full funding from the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council ( ...

. Graeae are currently a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England. In 1984 the Graeae Theatre Company won a Special Award in the

Evening Standard Awards The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standar ...

, and has since won numerous awards, including the Promotion of Diversity Award at the UK Theatre Awards 2012. It also won the Euan's Guide Most Accessible Production for

Jack Thorne Jack Thorne FRSL (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for writing the stage play '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', the films '' Wonder'' and '' Enola Holmes'', ...

's The Solid Life of Sugar Water at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Jenny Sealey MBE has been artistic director and CEO since 1997, and Amit Sharma joined as associate director in 2011. Nickie Miles-Wildin took over the role of associate director in 2019. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, while live theatres were closed in the UK, the company produced two series of short video plays written by disabled artists entitled ''Crips Without Constraints''. The first series were monologues while the second series were two-person plays. In March 2021, the company announced that an archival recording of their 2017 co-production of ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not incl ...

'' with the

Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

would be made available online for a limited time.

Repertoire

Actors who have appeared with the company include Nadia Albina,

Genevieve Barr Genevieve Barr (born 12 December 1985)Dehn, Georgia ', 24 June 2010, www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2010. is an English actor and writer of stage and screen. She played the lead role in the BBC award-winning series '' The Silence''. Havin ...

, Laurence Clark, Mat Fraser, Beth Hinton-Lever, Arthur Hughes,

Cherylee Houston Cherylee Martina Houston (born 20 August 1974) is a British actress. She grew up in Morecambe, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. She is currently playing Izzy Armstrong in '' Coronation Street'', a role she has portrayed since April 2010. She ...

Melissa Johns Melissa Johns is a British actress and disability activist. She is known for playing Sadie in '' The Interceptor'', Imogen Pascoe on ''Coronation Street'', Hannah Taylor in ''Life'', and Miss Scott in ''Grantchester''. Johns is an ambassador fo ...

, John Kelly, Garry Robson,

and

Kiruna Stamell Kiruna Stamell is a British-Australian actress. Since January 2023, she has portrayed Kirsty Millar in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. Life and career Stamell was born in Sydney, Australia with a rare form of dwarfism. She studied ballet, ...

. Graeae has produced plays by

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...

, Jackie Hagan, Jo Clifford, David Ireland,

Kaite O'Reilly Kaite O'Reilly FRSL is UK-based playwright, author and dramaturge of Irish descent. She has won multiple awards for her work, including the Ted Hughes Award (2011) for her version of Aeschylus's tragedy '' The Persians.'' O'Reilly's plays have bee ...

, Lorca,

Paul Sirett Paul Sirett is an English dramatist best known for his popular music-related shows. His plays and musicals have been awarded Best Off-West End Musical, Whatsonstage's Best Play, Pearson's Best New Play, City Life's Best Writer & Best Play. Shows ...

, Glyn Cannon and Sam Boardman-Jacobs. Graeae has performed at the National Theatre,

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

, Traverse Theatre Edinburgh,

Dundee Rep Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house ...

, Derby Theatre and

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

References

External links

Graeae Theatre Company website
{{authority control Theatre companies in the United Kingdom Disability theatre 1980 establishments in the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 1980 Disability organisations based in the United Kingdom

Repertoire

See also

References

External links