Sensory Theatre

Tim Webb is one of the three co-founders of the Oily Cart. He was the Artistic Director and chief writer of the company from 1981 to his retirement in 2018. During this time, he led a team that created more than 85 productions for young people including those labelled as having Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities or other complex disabilities. He has taught and directed sensory, immersive and interactive theatre in Belgium, Canada, China, Ireland, Russia, Sweden, Abu Dhabi and the USA, as well as throughout the UK. In 2011, he was honoured to be appointed MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his work for young people with disabilities. In 2018, he was made an Honorary Fellow of Rose Bruford College.

• Foreword by Prof. Helen Nicholson. Foreword to 1st edition by Jonathan Shmidt-Chapman. Preface PART ONE. The Beginnings of Sensory Theatre 1. Sensory Theatre: The Beginnings 2. Theatre for Two to Five Year Olds 3. All Sorts of Shows for All Sorts of Kids 4. How Long Is a Piece of Theatre? 5. Close up on PMLD 6. Truly Immersive – Theatre in Hydropools 7. Magic Carpet Ride 8. From PMLD to Autism Spectrum 9. Sensory Theatre for the Very Early Years PART TWO. How Sensory Theatre Works 10. Sensory Theatre Audiences 11. Sensory Theatre is Multisensory 12. The Senses One by One – The Sense of Seeing 13. The Senses One by One – The Sense of Hearing 14. The Senses One by One – The Sense of Touch 15. The Senses One by One – The Sense of Smell 16. The Senses One by One – The Sense of Taste 17. The Senses One by One – The Kinaesthetic Sense 18. The Senses One by One – The Sense of Hot and Cold 19. The Sensory Audit 20. Sensory Theatre is Close-up and Interactive 21. Wonderlands – Design in Sensory Theatre 22. Venues – Open and Closed 23. Music That is Felt as Much as Heard 24. The Problem with Narrative 25. The Performers in Sensory Theatre 26. Puppets and Pixels 27. Auditions 28. Rehearsals and Rehearsal Spaces 29. Shows that Start Before They Begin – Preparation 30. Continuous Consultation and Feedback PART THREE. The growth of Sensory Theatre 31. A rough guide to its progress so far 32. Canada – Carousel Players 33. USA – Chicago Children’s Theatre 34. UK – Bamboozle 35. UK – Frozen Light 36. Canada – Motus Theatre 37. Japan – Hospital Theatre Project 38. Australia – Sensorium 39. Sweden – Scen:se Project 40. USA – Trusty Sidekick and Lincoln Centre 41. Ireland – Helium 42. Japan – Sun Pucho 43. Australia – Threshold 44. Israel - Making Sensory Theatre with Safe Place 45. UK – C&T 46. UK – Blanket Fort Club 47. UK – Concrete Youth 48. UK – Second Hand Dance 49. USA – Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Hawaii State Art Museum 50. USA – The K’ilu Company 51. UK – Oily Cart 52. Sensory Theatre is Digital Too PART FOUR. Extras Appendix 1. Bibliography: Books and Articles that I Have Found Especially Useful Appendix 2. A List of Shows Written by Tim Webb Appendix 3. How Philosophy and Theatre Can Help Us Value Profoundly Disabled People Appendix 4. Links to Oily Cart Show Videos on YouTube