Our History

  • Dr Jessi Parrott rehearsing a play in a rehearsal room.
  • Evlyne, a black female, wearing a cream boiler suit, Anna freckled white woman, with long brown wavy hair wearing all black, and Theo, a pale nonbinary person with dark features short hair using a power wheelchair perform on stage.
  • Georgia Burnell performing in Constellations by Tom Ryalls. A white woman with long hair wearing a hospital gown, stands on stage, her arms spread out. Behind her is a black background, with tiny pinpricks of light creating constellations, and beside her there is a telescope. Above her head, the caption says "that's the next show. It'll be great. Everyone will laugh their heads off, and applaud and then I'll bow" in blue.
  • Jamie Hale and Sophie Walter in rehearsals for NOT DYING. Jamie is a white person with red hair and chunky black glasses. They wear a shiny silver shirt, and black stockings. They watch as Sophie, a white woman with long brown hair (tied up), dressed in scrubs, pushes an electric hoist towards them.
  • MC Geezer and Troi 'DJ Chinaman' Lee perform at the CRIPtic Pit Party in 2021. MC Geezer raps and signs on stage, while Troi Lee plays music from behind a desk, with his hand raised.
  • Athena Stevens, Sophie Walters, and Jo Ross at the NOT DYING R&D. Athena laughs while Sophie gazes at her, and Jo signs to the performers on stage.
  • The cast & crew of the 2021 CRIPtic Showcase gather on stage for a final bow. They are bathed in blue and pink light and surrounded by bubbles.

I. Performances and Productions

2027: Romeo & Juliet (Barbican Pit Theatre) Currently in development

2026: The Acts (Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol) Currently in development

2025: Quality of Life is Not a Measurable Outcome (Jesus College, Oxford) 

  • A research-based performance of the show that integrated live audience polling and interaction, with the show being part of the project (titled “What is the value of quality of life: Cost, Care, Choices”), funded by the AHEIC Antithesis grant, to explore how audiences change their opinions over the course of the show.

2026: The Acts (Bristol Old Vic)

  • In a cultural moment that asks disabled artists to fit into neat boxes, The Acts asks what happens when we refuse. When we choose mess, ritual, pleasure, grief, humour, and grit. When we make art on our own terms. Shows included: “Realms” (Tatum Swithenbank), “body job” (Kathrine Payne), “The Ache of It” (Caitlin Magnall-Kearns), and “Pruu the Pidge” (So.Sha)

2024 / 6: UCL Words Matter Performance & Installation

  • Supported & produced 3 artists’ work as part of a multi-disciplinary exhibition showcasing the works of each with a practice in spoken word, performance or writing, exploring UCL’s historic role in promoting the pseudoscience of eugenics. Simi Roach (Cirque du Handicap), Miss Jaqui (JOY), & Rachel Gadsden (PostHuman)

2025: Liberty Festival ( Producer)

  • Produced a multidisciplinary display of disabled artistry across six venues in Wandsworth for the London Borough of Culture. Featured 50+ creatives in music, cabaret, theatre and visual arts.

2025: Quality of Life is Not a Measurable Outcome (Glastonbury Festival) 

  • A new staging of the show that focused on the poetic nature of the piece, with stripped-back staging and tech involved, performed in the Poetry and Words tent.

2024: The Acts (Barbican Pit Theatre)

  • A meta-theatrical showcase of four distinct works addressing disabled identity and the artistic revolution: “Autistic as Fuck” (Stephen Bailey), “PostHuman” (Rachel Gadsden), “Over the Moon” (Peyvand Sadeghian and Matthew Robinson) and “To Rose On Her 18th Birthday” (A.C. Smith).

2024: Quality of Life is Not a Measurable Outcome (Roundhouse)

  • A confronting play by Jamie Hale asking us who gets to decide what a (disabled) life is worth, and what happens when quality of life itself is treated as expendable.

2024: The CRIP Monologues (UCL / Camden People’s Theatre)

  • From Jamie Hale, Hayleigh Morrow, Sonera Theo Angel, Emily Brenchi, and Simone Roach, The Crip Monologues explores disability, scrutiny, intimacy, and the reclamatory power of choosing to stare back.

2024: Telepresence – NOT DYING (University of Brighton / Theatre Deli)

  • In collaboration with the research developed alongside the University of Brighton, staging a digital performance of NOT DYING that explored hybrid audience participation in addition to a performer from across the globe. 

2024: Self & Other (HOME Manchester)

  • A collection of monologues exploring the intricate threads of human connection, the reality of interdependency, and how fine the line between self and other really is.

2023: The CRIP Monologues

  • A radical performance by Jamie Hale exploring public scrutiny and the power of the “stare,” centred on reclaiming agency through vulnerability and storytelling.

2023: NOT DYING, (LET Awards)

  • Jamie Hale’s NOT DYING was shortlisted for the LET Awards, but they withdrew live during the performance showcase, citing inequity in the studio performance facilities offered to them and the main stage facilities offered to other shortlisted artists who were not wheelchair users.

2022: CRIPtic Cabaret x Trans Vegas & NOT DYING (HOME Manchester)

  • A cross-community collaboration with TransCreative, showcasing high-calibre disabled talent in Manchester, including folk music, comedy, and poetry.
  • Performance of Jamie Hales’ NOT DYING

2021: CRIPtic Pit Party (Barbican Pit)

  • A sold-out, mixed-bill showcase responding to the theme: “the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, by ourselves.” Included music, spoken word, and Deaf hip-hop, and launched CRIPtic as an organisation. New work by Miss Jacqui, Alice Christina Corrigan, Tom Ryalls, MC Geezer & Troi Lee, Flawbored, Oli Isaac, Tink Flaherty, Gold Maria Akanbi
  • Recording of a documentary by Fig Films titled Call Us CRIPtic featuring the work of the artists in the Pit Party, contextualised in the ethos and formation of CRIPtic as an organisation

2021: CRIPtic x Lewisham Borough of Culture

  • A partnership program focused on taking up space for disabled people in the arts through mentoring and local showcasing.

2019: CRIPtic Pit Party (Inaugural Showcase)

  • The debut sell-out event at the Barbican, launching the CRIPtic movement and showcasing a new wave of disability-led political and creative work.

II. Community and Artist Development

  1. Artist Development Programmes

2026 Programme Members

  • Reach (Solo Shows): Caroline Williams (The Wumpus), Georgi Arthur (TBC), Kate Cavil (TBC), Maya Owen (TBC) and Rana Bader (TBC)
  • Launchpad (Staging): Fran Bushe (Hot Cold), Hannah Finn and Morgan Barbour (The Double Draw), Jordan Charles (Ride the Wind) and Kathryn Bond (The Making of the Eye Show) 
  • Incubate (Leadership): Kirin Saeed (Visually Impaired Creators Scotland), Amanda Grace (Factory of Love), Tríus (House of Tríus) and Mel Patman (Plentiful Artists)
  • Breakthrough (Commission): Tamm Reynolds
  • Embark (Scriptwriters & Directors): TBC
  • Seed Funded Artists: Bea Webster Mockett, Kywel Wilcox and Jeremy Linnell
  • Associate Artists: Terri Jade Donovan and Kobi Ayensuo

2025 Programme Members

  • Reach (Solo Shows): Greg Arundell (Waves), Claire Beerjeraz (Rooted), Melodie Karczewski (Cremating the Phoenix), Georgia Kelly (Toast), Jess Senanayake (island time), Sam Zelaya (Stick and Poke).
  • Launchpad (Staging): Caitlin Magnall-Kearns (The Ache of It), Kathrine Payne (Body Job), Tatum Swithenbank (REALMS), SO SHA (Pruu the Pidge).
  • Incubate (Leadership): Meg Fozzard (Unlikely Tangent Studios), Marcy Ricks (Turning Worm Theatre), A.C. Smith (Vanish the Wall).
  • Breakthrough (Commission): Mohammad Barrangi (Visual & Performance Art).
  • Associate Artists: Nicola Warner, Hayleigh Barclay, Jordan Charles

2024 Programme Members

  • Reach (Solo Shows): Arden Fitzroy, Fannie Marion (The Spider’s Daughter), Ozioma Ihesiene (Jokes on You), Dan McIntyre, Rachel Baker (Sloth).
  • Launchpad (Staging): A.C. Smith (To Rose On Her 18th Birthday), ASYLUM Arts (Stephen Bailey, Theo Angel, Evlyne Oyedoukn, Kat Dulfer), Hugh Malyon & Steve Sowden, Peyvand Sadeghian & Matthew Robinson, Marcy Rick & Ro Lewis.
  • Incubate (Leadership): Suswati Basu (How to Be Books), Jonny Leitch (Head Over Wheels), Princess Olowogboye (BLKINK Productions), Rebekah Ubuntu.
  • Breakthrough (Commission): Rachel Gadsden (PostHuman), Vici Wreford-Sinnott (Little Cog).

2023 Programme Members

  • Reach (Solo Shows): Marcella Rick (Sober Curious), Britny Virginia (Up in the Mango Trees), Terri Jade Donovan (DOG, DOG, DOG), Gemma Lees (Rollercoaster Dai), Elspeth Wilson.
  • Launchpad (Staging): Jasmin Thien (We Close Our Eyes), Jessi Parrott (Bumps), Ada Eravama (Fragments), Ashleigh Wilder (Touch).
  • Incubate (Leadership): Samuel Brewer (FlawBored), Ducky Elford, Nell Hardy (Response Ability Theatre), Saskia Horton (Sensoria).
  • Breakthrough (Commission): Adrian Lee (Hexagram), Miss Jacqui.

2022 Programme Members

  • Incubate (Leadership): Miss Jacqui (DRURAE), Tzipporah Johnston (Neuk Collective), Lilac Yosiphon, Dave Young (The Shouting Mute).
  1. Connect Through Community

Connect Through Creativity (CTC) serves a global disabled community, reaching 25–30 participants weekly and consistently selling out its 60+ person monthly salon events. By evolving through participant feedback, the program has provided vital employment for over 46 facilitators over the last two years. 

  1. Embark

Embark is a year-long programme for four disabled creatives with high physical access needs, designed to help kick-start creative careers. Each year between 2026 and 2030, we’ll support two writers and two directors to create new paid work for the stage. The programme is co-designed with a Project Board of disabled creatives, alongside the CRIPtic Arts team.

  1. Disabled Poets’ Prize

2023 Winners: The winner of the Best Single Poem category was Jamie Fields, with How To Sign Playground, and the winner of the Best Unpublished Pamphlet category was Katharine Moss, with The Still Point. 

2024 Winners: We awarded the prize for Best Single Poem 2024 to Gayathiri Kamalakanthan for Eating an Orange. Best Unpublished Pamphlet 2024 was awarded to Susie Wilson for Nowhere Near As Safe As A Snake In Bed. The judges highly commended Sahera Khan’s poem My Eyes in the category Best Poem Performed in BSL.

III. Research and Change

The Fore Trust

  • This funding from the Fore was core funding for us as an organisation to build and develop into the organisation we have today. It also funded research into identifying barriers to the arts for deaf and disabled people facing the greatest access needs. Created and published the Core Ethos for CRIPtic, using it to guide our practice as an organisation and the programmes we create. 

Always the Audience (Never the Star)

  • Research conducted by Dr Jessi Parrott and Jamie Hale into performers with high physical barriers / access requirements in London Theatres. It is titled this because, as disabled people, we feel like we are expected to only ever be the audience at a show, and we feel like we are never given what we need to be the performer or technical crew for the show.

Access Riders – Paul Hamlyn Funded

  • Researched and designed a tool people can use to create access riders online, through asking thoughtful questions that lead to a standardised document. This is intended to support and develop other organisations in learning how to use access riders to champion deaf and disabled creatives with the support they need. 

Community Captioning

  • Led by Ben Glover, this was a project to develop a low-barrier, open-source community captioning solution for theatre and beyond. Ben worked with caption users and theatre-makers to identify gaps in current provision and explore technical solutions, before scoping how these could be delivered through a community captioning system.

Concrete Commitments & Inadequate Access

  • This research has been created and led by Sam Brewer and supported by Jamie Hale, looking into the inaccessibility of performances for deaf and disabled audiences and creating commitments that organisations can uphold. The research recognises that different projects are working with different scales and budgets, and it surveyed audience members and met with organisations and venues to discover what is feasible for venues and organisations of varying scales, and what is unacceptable for consumers.

Being Hybrid Guide

  • Research conducted with Spread the Word (Now London Writers Centre). Being Hybrid is a guide to how to run an event that is online and in person at the same time. This is called a ‘hybrid event’. Event organisers often say that it is too expensive and too difficult to turn an in-person event into a hybrid event. Actually, as the guide proves, it is cheap and easy to do this.

Access Training

  • In 2026, we received funding from the School for Social Entrepreneurs to develop our Access Training business arm. We have been delivering this ad hoc for clients since DATE, and have also worked with freelancers, including Jameisha Prescod, to create additional access training resources.

Telepresence

  • We produced a 15-minute section of Quality of Life Is Not a Measurable Outcome featuring live online actors in the UK, a dancer in Singapore, pre-recorded performers, and digital scenography. This included a pre-recorded BSL performer synchronised with spoken English, with signs and words delivered simultaneously – an approach explored for the first time on a Telepresence Stage as an accessible and effective form of translation.

Accessible Rehearsal Processes (Add show if we get ACE funding)

  • In 2026, we carried out an R&D of Romeo and Juliet designed to support our research into how one can create accessible rehearsal processes for disabled actors, looking at structure, flexibility, and the support that needs to be in place. This will be published and shared as training for the wider industry on how access can be improved in rehearsals.

IV. Staffing

2026: Artistic Director: Jamie Hale; Head of Programmes and Producing: Caitlin Richards; Finance and Operations Manager: Maz Hedgehog; Marketing Officer: Meg Terzza, Development Producer: Jack Wakely; Communities Producer: Alice Christina Corrigan; Project Manager and Assistant to Jamie Hale: Luke Rogers 

2025: Artistic Director: Jamie Hale; Lead Producer: Caitlin Richards; Finance and Operations Manager: Maz Hedgehog; Marketing Officer: Meg Terzza; Development Producer: Jack Wakely; Communities Producer: Alice Christina Corrigan; Project Manager and Assistant to Jamie Hale: Luke Rogers; Festival Producer: Alice Holland Ballard

2024: Artistic Director: Jamie Hale; Lead Producer: Caitlin Richards; Marketing Officer: Meg Terzza, Development Producer: Jack Wakely; Communities Producer: Alice Christina Corrigan; Project Coordinator and Assistant to Jamie Hale: Luke Rogers

2023: Artistic Director: Jamie Hale; Lead Producer: Caitlin Richards; Communities Producer: Alice Christina Corrigan; Assistant to Jamie Hale: Chris Bond

2022: Artistic Director: Jamie Hale; Lead Producer: Caitlin Richards

2021: Artistic Director: Jamie Hale; Lead Producer: Caitlin Richards