SENSORIUM THEATRE SET TO OPEN UP THE WONDERBOX
From schools across Western Australia to venues and festivals around the world, Sensorium Theatre have been delivering their unique and engaging style of live performance to young people with disability for more than a decade.
Funding from the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation is helping Sensorium Theatre to bring their work to as wide an audience as possible, delivering more than 100 sensory storytelling sessions at schools, libraries and playgroups throughout 2023.
The company was founded in 2010 with the goal of making theatre accessible and enjoyable to a wider audience, encompassing children on the autism spectrum, children with limited movement or sensory impairment, and children with complex communication needs.
At present, it is the only theatre company in Australia that creates work specifically for young people with special needs, though Sensorium’s performances are also widely enjoyed by carers, parents and children of all abilities.
Starting with 2011’s The Jub-Jub Tree, its team of artists and performers have developed a total of four original theatre shows, as well as a series of “Sensory Storytelling” sessions based on classic children’s stories and rhymes.
In contrast to more traditional theatre experiences, Sensorium’s shows are designed with interactivity and all five senses in mind. For example, 2019’s Whoosh! has audience members guided through an intergalactic adventure at the helm of a spaceship.
Having worked to expand and diversify its team over the past several years, Sensorium now employs a cast of 11 performers and five musicians. Each artist plays an important role in providing an enjoyable experience for audience members of varying ages and abilities.
Their latest production, Wonderbox, recently premiered at the Perth Festival and will return to the CBD later in the year as part of the 2023 AWESOME Festival.
Developed at Sensorium’s “Imaginarium”, a theatre-workshop based at Kenwick School in Kenwick, the show is designed to celebrate and reward children’s’ sense of curiosity and discovery as they explore the contents of a giant puzzle-box of illusions.
The Foundation’s support is also helping the company nurture a more inclusive culture for Western Australia, delivering adventurous and relevant theatre to kids living in regional, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
With Wonderbox set to embark on a national tour in 2024 and international interest for touring in 2025/2026, WA kids will be the first to lift the lid on Sensorium Theatre’s latest and greatest work of imagination.
Visit Sensorium Theatre to find out more.
Published: May 2023