Accessibility guide

The next performances of Where We Meet will take place at PROTO, Abbott's Hill, Baltic Business Quarter, Gateshead NE8 3DF (see map).

Mobility advice for Where We Meet will depend on your ticket type.

Active Participant:

• The floor is completely clear (no set, objects, steps, trip hazards, etc)

• The interactive system works with different heights, including participants using a wheelchair

• The interactive system will encourage participants to roam around the space and get close to a chosen character. Please note that it may require standing for up to 30 minutes if you are not a wheelchair user.

• There are up to 3 dancers and 10 active participants and in the performances moving around. The space is roughly 10 × 10 m.

Seated Observer:

• The performance takes place in the round with one row of seats spread around the space.

• A dedicated space will be reserved for wheelchair users.

Venue Access:

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible.

Where We Meet heavily relies on audio and the stories communicated through the monologues of each character. A few things to note before joining:

• We are trialling experimental captions for both Active Participants and Seated Observers. Please get in touch before the performance or make a note when booking.

• We are exploring how our interactive system can be interfaced with various assistive devices. How headphones work with most hearing aids and we can also provide T-drive headphones that create a local induction loop. Please get in touch before the performance or make a note when booking. When you arrive at the venue, please make yourself known so we can test if everything works ok with your assistive devices.

Please see detailed information for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing participants in this document.

Where We Meet heavily relies on the stories communicated through the monologues of each character. We haven’t yet found solutions to provide audio descriptions for the work that wouldn’t clash with the constant audio already playing. We hope to explore this in the future.

A few things to note before joining:

• The space is fairly dark and you might need to navigate around other audience members in low light.

• The floor is clear and doesn’t present any trip hazards

• Seated observers will interact with the show through a tablet. Due to the nature of the interactive system, participants will need to move a cursor on-screen to access the various stories.

• Active participants are encouraged to roam around the room and get close to their chosen characters to access their inner monologues. We would recommend blind participants to be accompanied by a carer in order to navigate the space during the performance.

A few sensory elements to note:

• The space is fairly dark during the performance

• The interactive system involves over-ear headphones needed for the duration of the performance (30 minutes)

• Participants might find themselves in close proximity to each other, but can step further at any point

• Active Participants might be invited to interact with performers, but none are mandatory

Please find detailed sensory information and a visual story in this document.

Content

The performance covers topics of mental health challenges, especially around body dismorphia, perfectionism and anxiety that some audience members might find distressing.

Age guidance

This performance is recommended for ages 14+. This age guidance is a recommendation based on the topics covered during the performance and the nature of the interactive performance that requires a certain level of maturity in the space. But we are happy to leave it to the discretion of the parents. Please note that our headphones are sized for an adult head and might feel uncomfortable for smaller heads.