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Oily Cart’s Natalya Martin on A World Beneath Us
Just when you thought the impact of Covid was over and we were all getting back into the theatre, Oily Cart is here to remind you that there are a whole host of people – especially disabled children and their families – who are still limited in their access. This summer they have a brand new sensory show, A World Beneath Us, created for and with disabled children, which will help break down barriers to experiencing theatre. We were excited to get the chance to ask Associate Director Natalya Martin all about it.
Hi Natalya. Thanks so much for talking with us today. A World Beneath Us is what you call an ‘at home’ show. Can you describe what that means and how this style of work came about?
An ‘at home’ show is pretty much what it says on the tin! Every At Home show is different, but it is essentially a theatrical experience that is sent in the post, that allows young people and their families the autonomy to engage with theatre when and how they like.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the world didn’t know what was happening and we couldn’t leave our homes, the inequalities that young disabled people and their families face came into full view. It’s important to acknowledge that disabled young people and their families knew of these inequalities first-hand a long time before the pandemic – 2020 just brought it into sharp focus for the rest of society.
The lockdowns between 2020-2021 forced the arts world to look at who was not being reached. Many people were able to continue engaging with arts and culture over this time through new digital means – but what about those who engage with the world in a primarily sensory way? And what does sensory theatre look like when close-up, interactive shows that use touch as a central technique are no longer possible?
That’s when Oily Cart’s Uncancellable Programme was born, trying new formats so they could share theatre with their audience in a safe way. The first At Home show was Space To Be, a show on which I was lucky enough to be an associate artist.
There are already so few opportunities for disabled young people with unpredictable medical and care needs: the pandemic shone the light brighter on this fact. Through the Uncancellable Programme, Oily Cart learnt that At Home experiences are the only way that some families can access their shows, even once the lockdowns had ended, and have committed to keep making them. It is crucial that the At Home Shows are developed with the same rigour and artistry that any other shows going into a venue would have, as well as continuing being co-created alongside disabled young people.
Tell us about the themes of the show and why you’re interested in mycelium and natural networks? Does it really use 33 senses?
There are absolutely 33 senses: as well as sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, we have a sense of balance, a sense of where our body is in space, a sense of movement… In A World Beneath Us we certainly touch on many of these, as well as going deeper into the senses we’re typically more familiar with. For example, vision: vision is the sensorial system, but it is broken up into multiple sensations which account for some of the 33 senses. Everyone’s sensory perception is different, therefore everyone’s experience of sensory input is going to be different. For anyone interested in sensory work, I would encourage them to explore what those senses are and how we can engage with them more.
The main themes of A World Beneath Us take inspiration from Oily Cart’s co-production with Australian company Polyglot Theatre, a live show called When The World Turns. The seed of the show was a conversation with a parent of a disabled child: their family were made to feel that they didn’t belong in natural environments, and that their way of being in the world is somehow unnatural. The live show imagines a new world, one that values being rather than doing, exploring how each of us is an important part of our ecosystem, and how we can be led into a more sensory, attuned way of being in the world. This statement was an important factor in the At Home version we created, but uses mushrooms and mycelium to explore these ideas.
Co-director Greta Chambers McMillan and I were keen to take that initial idea and the themes that had grown out of it, and work with the concept of mushrooms and mycelium for A World Beneath Us. This slight shift in concept from the live show mirrors the difference between visibly public ecosystems (school, community settings and venues etc) and home ecosystems, which are networks we don’t often see or understand but are of equal value and importance. The ecosystems in people’s homes that we don’t see hold a lot of power, just like mycelium. A mushroom is often something that people don’t take much notice of: they’re seemingly small, and some may think they don’t ‘do much’ in the ecosystem, but actually, under the ground and to those who want to pay attention, they connect an entire ecosystem just by existing.
What did the development process for the project involve?
The development process has been exciting and has involved a lot of people! Greta and her creative access team, Expert Families, a film-maker, sound recordists, musical director, designer, makers and the Oily Cart core team! We created our own ecosystem network for this show. It really has been a deeply collaborative process where we have learnt a lot.
The development of A World Beneath Us began in December 2023, where we delved into ideas, themes and concepts. Greta and I worked together to figure out a theme that we connected with and it all started from there. Getting to co-direct this show with Greta has been brilliant, she uses eye gaze technology to communicate and create; her arts practice is very exciting. Greta is an Edinburgh-based artist, so I got to travel to Edinburgh when collaborating with the team working there over the course of January-July, and we spent a lot of time in nature, which was a personal highlight.
Greta led on the Sensory Film and I led on the Sensory Boxes working alongside brilliant designer and maker Toya Walker. Throughout the process, Greta and I stayed connected through in-person visits, storyboards, music, videos, Padlet pages, photos and emails to name a few. We also worked directly with disabled young people and their families, who are our Expert Families, to test and trial prototypes for the boxes and gain feedback. We’ve definitely all learnt a lot about the life of mushrooms and mycelium!
Once their show arrives in the post, what does each family have to do?
A World Beneath Us comprises two parts: the sensory film and the sensory box, which will be sent directly to families’ homes. The film and box are produced so that they can be explored separately or together, but they share running themes, imagery and sound elements.
Families will receive A World Beneath Us via courier organised by Oily Cart. They will be emailed supporting resources (which will also come in paper format inside the box) that will include everything you need to know about the experience, from the background of the project, links/QR codes to explainer videos, links/QR code to the Sensory Film, photos and contents of the box, important information around health and safety and even a page on how to reuse some of the items once you’ve finished your experience. There are also easy-read social stories available for families who would like them.
Once you have opened your box and digested all the information, you can begin the experience whenever you like. That is the beauty of At Home shows; families can take their time and do things in their own way. If you get stuck, you can use the explainer videos or social stories that walk you through every moment of the show. Once A World Beneath Us has made its way to your home, it is yours to keep and can live in your eco-system with you.
You’ve chosen a ‘Pay What You Choose’ sales model – can you tell us about that?
There are lots of barriers to accessing theatre, and cost is one of them. With Pay What You Choose ticketing, each family is invited to make their own decision on how much to pay based on what feels affordable for them. We also have a Pay It Forward option, for anyone who would like to pass on the magic of an At Home experience to another family.
What are you hoping your audiences will take away from the experience?
From a personal standpoint, working on something for people’s homes really excites me. Because I have the lived experience of being the companion coming to a show, or being the person at home who helps to try new things, there feels as though there is extra meaning in connecting with other families in this way for me, and is something I feel particularly passionate about.
Everyone will have their own takeaways from A World Beneath Us, which is the beauty of all art; but I hope this show allows young people and their families who experience the most barriers to access, to engage with nature in a new way and come away from it, knowing they are an important part of the eco-system.
Thanks so much to Natalya for telling us all about this brilliant project coming up this summer. For more information about A World Beneath Us and Oily Cart please visit the Oily Cart website.
